Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

The “third-party[.]com” domain, commonly used as a documentation placeholder, has been observed serving a ClickFix lure to Windows browsers while displaying a harmless decoy to other users. “third-party[.]com has been a generic documentation placeholder for years, the same role example.com plays,” Manifold Security’s Head of Research, Ax Sharma, said. “Unlike ‘example[.]com,’ third-party[.]com is not IANA-reserved. Anyone could register it, and someone did. Every doc, test, and skill that hard-coded it now points readers at attacker infrastructure.” As of writing, the domain has been marked as malicious and unsafe on both VirusTotal and Google’s Safe Browsing list. ClickFix is a social…

The crypto industry lost $2.1 trillion in market value during the past year, yet measured on-chain economic activity declined just 1.6% as stablecoin use expanded.The global crypto economy generated about $9.4 trillion in activity during the 12 months through June 30, down from $9.5 trillion a year earlier, according to Chainalysis’s 2026 Global Crypto Adoption Index published Sept. 23. That comparatively small contraction came as total crypto market capitalization fell about 50% during the period.Global Crypto Economic Activity (Source: Chainalysis)The divergence marks a shift in where activity occurs during market downturns. Value received by exchanges, decentralized-finance protocols and other crypto…

In 2021, Maine Beer Company’s carbon dioxide supplier ran short on carbon dioxide. “There was potential for our beer to go stale in the tanks,” said Dave Love, the brewery’s sustainability manager. “We wouldn’t be able to use CO2 for any of our bottling, kegging, or centrifuge operations.” The solution the company settled on originated on Mars — or more specifically, in NASA’s plans for harvesting resources from the Red Planet. Now it’s saving money and reducing emissions for wineries, distilleries, power companies, helium producers, and more. Beginning in the 1990s, the company Pioneer Astronautics won multiple Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)…

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust said it was undertaking a “thorough investigation” and it would be “inappropriate to reach conclusions before those enquiries are complete”. “Every patient and family has the right to expect that their personal information will be treated with care, respect and confidentiality,” said Prof Steve Hams, the trust’s chief nursing and improvement officer.”Any concern that records may have been accessed without a legitimate reason is something we take extremely seriously.”The trust said that, should any staff misconduct be identified, “appropriate action will be taken through the relevant processes”. NHS medical records can contain highly sensitive personal information,…

In Nepal, the law has eliminated gender discrimination when it comes to property rights, but cultural norms still interfere with land ownership.Many of the country’s agricultural workers are women, yet they do not own the land they work.Research shows that globally, women’s access to secure land tenure is linked to higher agricultural productivity, lower food insecurity, reduced poverty and slower environmental degradation.While some women in Nepal say the lack of land ownership is not a problem for them, others do not recognize the legal rights they have; experts say education is key.See All Key Ideas POKHARA, Nepal —…

A post shared over 1,300 times on Facebook claims that migrants crossing the English Channel by small boat automatically get refugee status if they are picked up by rescue ships.This isn’t correct. In order to receive refugee status, anyone arriving in the UK via small boat must apply for asylum and then have their claim be successful. Being picked up by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) or Border Force does not change this, the Home Office has confirmed. The post features an image of an RLNI lifeboat and text that claims Border Force and RLNI vessels picking up migrants…

Three unidentified people were seen emerging from a manhole in New York City’s Upper East Side neighborhood early Wednesday before fleeing the area, police said, in an incident that comes as many world leaders have gathered in the city for the United Nations general assembly.The incident is the latest in a series of similar cases involving people entering or emerging from New York City’s sewer network in recent months that have gone viral online.A spokesperson for the New York City police department (NYPD) said in a statement that the incident appeared to fit the “same criteria” as several of the…

German prosecutors are investigating a man aged 105 over allegations that he was an accessory to multiple counts of murder at a Nazi prisoner of war camp in World War Two.The suspect is alleged to have been a camp guard at Stalag 326 VI K in Senne in northwestern Germany.A similar case had also been under way involving a second former camp guard at Senne, Dortmund public prosecutor Sonja Frodermann said in a statement.That suspect died a few months ago at the age of 99, she said.No further details about the two former guards have been made public, however the…

Representative Chris Pappas, a Democrat, leads John E. Sununu, the Republican nominee, by five percentage points in the New Hampshire Senate race, 50 percent to 45 percent, according to a new poll of likely voters conducted by The New York Times and Siena University.Mr. Pappas’s lead suggests that Democrats retain an advantage in a state where there have been some indicators that Republicans could be competitive even in a favorable environment for Democrats.The Democratic edge comes despite the two candidates being viewed nearly identically by voters overall, with 43 percent rating Mr. Pappas favorably and 44 percent saying they see…

Ukrainian refugees in the UK fear they could be left homeless after the government quietly axed 70% of funding for hosts of the Homes for Ukraine scheme, reducing monthly “thank you” payments to them from £350 to £100.The scheme was launched after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has provided support for 181,000 of the 234,000 Ukrainians who have since sought sanctuary in the UK.Now the government has said it will cut the hosting payments and reduce contributions to local authorities, which are paid a sum for each arrival to meet costs associated with delivery of the programme.A…