The world has been abuzz for weeks now about the inclusion of a journalist in a group message of senior White House officials discussing plans for a military strike. In that case, the breach was the result of then-National Security Advisor Mike Waltz accidentally adding The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg to the group chat and no one else in the chat noticing. But what if someone controlling or hacking a messenger platform could do the same thing?

When it comes to WhatsApp—the Meta-owned messenger that’s frequently touted for offering end-to-end encryption—it turns out you can.

A clean bill of health except for ...

A team of researchers made the finding in a recently released formal analysis of WhatsApp group messaging. They reverse-engineered the app, described the formal cryptographic protocols, and provided theorems establishing the security guarantees that WhatsApp provides. Overall, they gave the messenger a clean bill of health, finding that it works securely and as described by WhatsApp.

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Over the last century or more, humanity has been developing an ever-growing list of chemicals that have never been seen by Earth's creatures. Many of these chemicals end up being toxic contaminants that we'd love to get rid of, but we struggle to purify them from the environment or break them down once we do. And microbes haven't had much chance to evolve the ability to break them down for us.

Over the last few years, however, we've found a growing number of cases where bacteria have evolved the ability to break down industrial contaminants and plastics. Unfortunately, these bacteria are all different species, target different individual contaminants, and thrive in different environments. But now, researchers have developed a new way to take the genes from all these species and place them in a single bacterial strain that can decontaminate complex waste mixtures.

Targeting contaminants

The inspiration for this work was the fact that a lot of industrial contamination contains a mixture of toxic organic molecules, but is found in brackish or salty water. So, the research team, based in Shenzhen, China, started by simply testing a number of lab strains to determine the ability to survive these conditions. The one that seemed to do the best is called Vibrio natriegens . These bacteria were discovered in a salt marsh, and their primary claim to fame is an impressive growth rate, with a population being able to double about every 10 minutes.

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There is no product category that better embodies the XKCD take on standards than smart home. With an ocean of connectivity options and incompatible standards, taming this mess has been challenging, but Matter could finally have a shot at making things a little less frustrating. The latest version of the standard has launched, offering multiple ways to streamline the usually aggravating setup process.

The first public release of Matter was in late 2022, but compatible systems didn't get support until the following year. Now, there are Matter-certified devices like smart bulbs and sensors that will talk to Apple, Google, Amazon, and other smart home platforms. Matter 1.4.1 includes support for multi-device QR codes, NFC connection, and integrated terms and conditions—all of these have the potential to eliminate some very real smart home headaches.

It's common for retailers to offer multi-packs of devices like light bulbs or smart plugs. That can save you some money, but setting up all those devices is tedious. With Matter 1.4.1, it might be much easier thanks to multi-device QR codes. Manufacturers can now include a QR code in the package that will pair all the included devices with your smart home system when scanned.

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French gendarmes have been busy policing crypto crimes, but these aren't the usual financial schemes, cons, and HODL! shenanigans one usually reads about. No, these crimes involve abductions, (multiple) severed fingers, and (multiple) people rescued from the trunks of cars—once after being doused with gasoline.

This previous weekend was particularly nuts, with an older gentleman snatched from the streets of Paris' 14th arrondissement on May 1 by men in ski masks. The 14th is a pleasant place—I highly recommend a visit to the catacombs in Place Denfert-Rochereau—and not usually the site of snatch-and-grab operations. The abducted man was apparently the father of someone who had made a packet in crypto. The kidnappers demanded a multimillion-euro ransom from the man's son.

According to Le Monde , the abducted father was taken to a house in a Parisian suburb, where one of the father's fingers was cut off in the course of ransom negotiations. Police feared "other mutilations" if they were unable to find the man, but they did locate and raid the house this weekend, arresting five people in their 20s. (According to the BBC , French police used "phone signals" to locate the house.)

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Apple executive Eddie Cue said that Apple is "actively looking at" shifting the focus of mobile Safari's search experience to AI search engines, potentially challenging Google's longstanding search dominance and the two companies' lucrative default search engine deal. The statements were made while Cue testified for the US Department of Justice in the Alphabet/Google antitrust trial, as first reported in Bloomberg .

Cue noted that searches in Safari fell for the first time ever last year, and attributed the shift to users increasingly using large language model-based solutions to perform their searches.

"Prior to AI, my feeling around this was, none of the others were valid choices," Cue said of the deal Apple had with Google, which is a key component in the DOJ's case against Alphabet. He added: "I think today there is much greater potential because there are new entrants attacking the problem in a different way."

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Starlink last week announced a new deal for its standard hardware kit, giving the satellite dish and Wi-Fi router for free to customers who sign up for a 12-month commitment.

The deal is reminiscent of the hardware rental agreements long used by cable companies, but Starlink's offer has generated a bit of excitement. Some analysts suggested that the free kits are a reason for the federal government's $42 billion broadband deployment fund to send grants to Starlink instead of to fiber-to-the-home providers, or that the government should buy Starlink kits at the regular price of $349 each so that Elon Musk's company doesn't have to eat the cost.

You may not be surprised to learn that the free hardware kit isn't really free. But much of the discussion around the offer has ignored the fine details that could make a reasonable Starlink buyer decide to reject the deal. Similarly, policymakers deciding which ISPs should get government money might be wise to remember that fiber provides superior and more future-proof Internet service and that Starlink's offers to customers could change at any time.

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Broadcom has been sending cease-and-desist letters to owners of VMware perpetual licenses with expired support contracts, Ars Technica has confirmed.

Following its November 2023 acquisition of VMware, Broadcom ended VMware perpetual license sales . Users with perpetual licenses can still use the software they bought, but they are unable to renew support services unless they had a pre-existing contract enabling them to do so . The controversial move aims to push VMware users to buy subscriptions to VMware products bundled such that associated costs have increased by 300 percent or, in some cases, more .

Some customers have opted to continue using VMware unsupported, often as they research alternatives , such as VMware rivals or devirtualization.

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Greetings, Arsians, and welcome to Mother's Day, which I am told is once again happening this weekend in the US! Do you, much like the rest of humanity, have a mother? Well, if you do, then this is the time of year when you're supposed to buy her something to make up for all the pain and suffering she went through in order to bring you into this world! Mom raised you, and while what your mother probably wants more than anything is for you to pick up the phone and talk , you could do a lot worse than throwing some money at the problem and buying your mother something from the list we've assembled below!

Stuff for under $100

Severance TV show mug, $17.99

From Allentown to Cold Harbor, discerning innies know the best way to drink beverages. Credit: Amazon

Whether the mom in your life operates primarily as an "innie" or an "outie," if she's a fan of the Apple TV+ show Severance , she may appreciate this ceramic coffee mug inspired by the series . The mug features the iconic phrase "The Work is Both Mysterious and Important" in blue text that mirrors Lumon Industries' sterile corporate aesthetic. It's an ideal conversation starter for fans enjoying the show's second season after the painfully long production delay. Best of all, it's perfect for morning coffee before Mom begins her own mysterious and important work. The same company also offers a "Woe's Hollow" mug if you'd like an alternative design. Celebrate the Sisyphean every-day-is-the-same blessing of motherhood with confidence as these mugs are dishwasher and microwave safe, and they are available in both 11oz and 15oz sizes.

Frameo digital picture frame, $49.99

Frame your mom! Credit: Amazon

From awkward baby pictures, to wedding memories and last year’s holidays, your mother likely has more photos than she knows what to do with. Frameo digital picture frames give your mom somewhere to show off those countless photos without embarrassing, unexpected tags on Facebook.

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Like any big industry, the automotive business has several dumpsters filled with products and ideas that should have remained conceptual. From modern climate controls buried within successive infotainment menus that neither Lawrence of Arabia nor Columbo could find to the old and unlamented Chrysler TC by Maserati with its atrocious build quality and a terrible cylinder head (the Maserati part), the collective car circus has spawned no shortage of bad ideas.

However, there are a few good ideas buried under the weight of poor execution, lousy technology, dreadful marketing, steep pricing, or just merely something being ahead of its time. Several of these morsels deserved a better launch and a second chance. One of them is four-wheel steering.

Four-wheel steering, in concept

The idea of steering a two-axle vehicle's front and rear wheels isn't new. Very early American 4x4 trucks from the dawn of the 20th Century sported four-wheel-steering systems (4WS), including the Cotta Cottamobile, the American ¾-ton to 10-ton trucks, and Jeffery/Nash Quad Lorry 3-ton trucks.

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