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Plant extinctions are four times higher than official figures
A new global analysis has found that 571 plant species have gone extinct in the past 250 years (New Scientist). That's four times higher than figures held on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List but researchers from Kew Gardens say that even their numbers are likely to be a significant underestimate of biodiversity loss. The present rate of loss is 500 times higher than the speed at which plant species die out without human interference.
Hackers have stolen US border entry records
Images of people and vehicle licence plate numbers entering the US by land have been stolen by hackers from a subcontractor's server (The Register). Although US Customs and Border Patrol officials have not named the contractor, it's highly likely to be number plate recognition firm Perceptics, data from which was found on a .onion site by The Register in May.
Medieval wine grapes were genetically identical to modern variety
DNA analysis of grape seeds found at nine French archaeological sites has found that sauvignon blanc vines from 900 years ago were genetically identical to vines grown today (The Guardian). Other seeds among the set of 28 were all found to be cultivated varieties, dating back from the 1300s through the Roman era and as far into the past as iron age seeds from 500BCE.
Watch Dogs Legion imagines London's collapse into a post-Brexit fascist hell
For years now, developer and publisher Ubisoft has trodden a line between their games making a political or social statement and being "just a game" (WIRED). That excuse isn't going to fly for Ubisoft's latest title, Watch Dogs Legion. The upcoming open-world stealth/action game, officially revealed during the publisher's E3 conference today, is set in a possible future London where Brexit gets out of control, and the British state has descended into authoritarian fascism as a result.
European mobile data traffic routed through China for two hours
Last week, a border gateway protocol (BGP) internet routing incident redirected a significant chunk of European mobile broadband traffic to China for two hours (The Register). Although minor BGP leaks happen frequently and are unremarkable, the duration and scale of this incident – 70,000 routes were affected – has prompted calls for improved internet routing security. Although the leak was likely to have been caused by a simple error, even accidental routing traffic via countries such as China and the US exposes European communications to surveillance.
Has Black Mirror lost its way?
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This article was originally published by WIRED UK
