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Police suspend private forensic partner after ransomware attack
Police have suspended work with Eurofins, their largest private forensic analysis partner, after a June 2 ransomware attack compromised the company's systems (The Guardian). On June 3, the National Police Chiefs’ Council says, Eurofins was instructed to return all work that it had not already begun. Outstanding DNA analysis, toxicology, ballistics and computer forensics work is being redistributed to other partner firms, but cases are expected to be delayed as a result.
Plastic pollution has become a permanent part of Madeira's shore
On the Portuguese island of Madeira, a layer of plastic pollution is melding with the shoreline, coating rocks with filmy fragments – dubbed 'plasticrusts' by researchers – that cling like algae (Gizmodo). The first paper to describe the phenomenon as a new category of marine debris, thought to be formed when large pieces of plastic are crushed against the rocks by the waves, urges further investigation to understand their potential impact on shoreline ecology.
The US wants to ban Huawei from filing or defending patents
The US government's latest tactic against trade rival China and its most successful companies is a proposed ban that would prevent firms on the government's "priority watch list" – such as Huawei – from either registering new patents or defending their existing ones in US courts (The Register). Proposed by Republican Senator Marco Rubio as part of a defence bill it's been widely criticised by intellectual property lawyers. The move comes in the wake of renewed efforts by Huawei to defend its US patents.
Get ready for the return of the mind flayer in Stranger Things
There's a new, full trailer for the next series of Stranger Things and it promises the return of the otherworldly mind flayer, as well as new friendships, familiar heroes and its expected share of 80s-influenced cinematic flourishes (Ars Technica). Season three of Stranger Things comes to Netflix worldwide on July 4.
Reddit’s ‘Am I the Asshole’ is your new favourite guilty pleasure
Have you recently had an argument and are wondering if you were in the right? (WIRED). Want an external arbiter to judge if your morally-dubious actions were justified or not? Or just want to feel smug that your interpersonal skills are way better than those of random internet strangers? Reddit’s r/AmItheAsshole is for you.
What is Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency really about?
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This article was originally published by WIRED UK
