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Category: security

Clearing the path for turbulence-free quantum communication

A University of Ottawa team has developed a new way to protect free-space quantum key distribution (QKD) from atmospheric turbulence, one of the main causes of distortion and errors when sending quantum information through air. Their paper, “All-optical turbulence mitigation for free-space quantum key distribution using stimulated parametric down-conversion,” appears in the journal Optica.

Instead of relying on complex, expensive digital adaptive optics, the researchers use a nonlinear optical process called “stimulated parametric down-conversion (StimPDC).” The technique leverages StimPDC’s phase-conjugation property to correct spatial-mode distortions dynamically without requiring prior knowledge of the turbulent channel.

“We found the idea of using a fundamental optical process to correct the effects of turbulence in real time to be both innovative and largely unexplored,” said Aarón Cardoso, lead author and Quantum Optics Student Researcher at uOttawa. “Our results show we can reduce quantum error rates below the security threshold even under strong turbulence.”

Windows 11 KB5077241 update improves BitLocker, adds Sysmon tool

Microsoft has released the KB5077241 optional cumulative update for Windows 11, which comes with 29 changes, including improvements to BitLocker, a new network speed test tool, and native System Monitor (Sysmon) functionality.

KB5077241 is a preview update delivered at the end of each month that allows admins to test Windows bug fixes, new features, and improvements before they’re generally available during next month’s Patch Tuesday release. However, unlike Patch Tuesday cumulative updates, monthly non-security preview updates do not include security fixes and only roll out quality improvements.

With the February 2026 optional update, Microsoft has improved BitLocker reliability, ensuring devices no longer freeze after entering the recovery key, and introduced a built‑in network speed test for Ethernet, Wi‑Fi, and cellular connections in the Windows taskbar, which can be opened from the Wi‑Fi or Cellular Quick Settings, or by right-clicking the network icon in the system tray.

AI-Assisted Threat Actor Compromises 600+ FortiGate Devices in 55 Countries

With Fortinet appliances becoming an attractive target for threat actors, it’s essential that organizations ensure management interfaces are not exposed to the internet, change default and common credentials, rotate SSL-VPN user credentials, implement multi-factor authentication for administrative and VPN access, and audit for unauthorized administrative accounts or connections.

It’s also recommended to isolate backup servers from general network access, ensure all software programs are up-to-date, and monitor for unintended network exposure.

“As we expect this trend to continue in 2026, organizations should anticipate that AI-augmented threat activity will continue to grow in volume from both skilled and unskilled adversaries,” Moses said. “Strong defensive fundamentals remain the most effective countermeasure: patch management for perimeter devices, credential hygiene, network segmentation, and robust detection for post-exploitation indicators.”

Android mental health apps with 14.7M installs filled with security flaws

Several mental health mobile apps with millions of downloads on Google Play contain security vulnerabilities that could expose users’ sensitive medical information.

In one of the apps, security researchers discovered more than 85 medium-and high-severity vulnerabilities that could be exploited to compromise users’ therapy data and privacy.

Some of the products are AI companions designed to help people suffering from clinical depression, multiple forms of anxiety, panic attacks, stress, and bipolar disorder.

Nanotubes unlock new wavelengths for smarter sensing

Sensors made of carbon nanotubes that can measure infrared and terahertz radiation are being tested for uses ranging from detecting damaged cables after earthquakes, to collecting health data via ultrathin wearable devices, and assisting with pharmaceutical quality control, say researchers in Japan.

“Accurately visualizing the internal structures of organisms and objects is integral to our daily lives, from medical imaging to security scanning in airports,” and terahertz sensors built from carbon nanotubes are uniquely suited to this purpose, says Yukio Kawano is a professor of engineering at Chuo University in Tokyo, and project leader at the Kanagawa Institute of Industrial Science and Technology (KISTEC) in Japan.

Compared with many sensor technologies that can only detect one part of the electromagnetic spectrum, Kawano’s team is working to create sensors that can detect terahertz and a broader range of radiation, and use them to produce high-resolution images.

New chip-fabrication method creates ‘twin’ fingerprints for direct authentication

Just like each person has unique fingerprints, every CMOS chip has a distinctive “fingerprint” caused by tiny, random manufacturing variations. Engineers can leverage this unforgeable ID for authentication, to safeguard a device from attackers trying to steal private data.

But these cryptographic schemes typically require secret information about a chip’s fingerprint to be stored on a third-party server. This creates security vulnerabilities and requires additional memory and computation.

To overcome this limitation, MIT engineers developed a manufacturing method that enables secure, fingerprint-based authentication, without the need to store secret information outside the chip.

Tin isotopes reveal clues to nuclear stability

Separated by an ocean and more than a decade, innovative experiments with 31 tin isotopes having either a surplus or shortage of neutrons show how neutrons influence nuclear stability and element formation. The experiments, conducted between 2002 and 2012 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and more recently at CERN, provide knowledge that impacts nuclear energy and national security applications.

The earlier, influential ORNL measurements contributed to the American Physical Society naming ORNL’s Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility a historic physics site in 2016. Several resulting publications by ORNL scientists and collaborators examined nuclear energy transitions of isotopes of tin and its neighbors and established the “doubly-magic” nature of tin-132 —stability resulting from full outer shells of both protons and neutrons.

Recent laser spectroscopy measurements at CERN’s ISOLDE facility by a team of scientists, including Alfredo Galindo-Uribarri of ORNL, combined with ORNL’s earlier Holifield results, have helped physicists understand how nuclear properties change across isotopes. The results, which help theoretical physicists improve models, are published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

Google blocked over 1.75 million Play Store app submissions in 2025

Google says that through 2025, it blocked more than 255,000 Android apps from obtaining excessive access to sensitive user data and rejected over 1.75 million apps from being published on Google Play due to policy violations.

The tech giant’s annual review of Android and Google Play security reveals how effective the implemented protection measures were in maintaining an ecosystem with honest developers and compliant apps.

“We’re constantly improving our policies and protections to encourage safe, high-quality apps on Google Play and stop bad actors before they cause harm,” Google says.

The Deflationary Singularity: Why Everything is Going to ZERO w/ Salim Ismail

The rapid advancement of technologies, particularly AI, is driving the world towards an economic singularity where the marginal cost of essentials approaches zero, leading to a deflationary future and a potential transformation of traditional systems and societies ##

## Questions to inspire discussion.

Education Transformation.

🎓 Q: How will AI reduce education time while improving effectiveness?

A: AI will customize education to each child’s learning style, reducing daily learning time to 1 hour per day while delivering 5 times more effective learning compared to traditional methods, with costs falling to zero within 3–5 years and breaking the university industry that currently creates massive student debt.

Healthcare Revolution.

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