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Women’s ‘red flag’ app Tea is a privacy nightmare

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  • I'm certainly no web security expert, but shouldn't Tea's junior network/backend/security developers, let alone seniors, know how to secure said Firebase or S3 buckets with STARTTLS or SSL certificates? Shouldn't a company like this have some sort of compliance department?

    I am not sure, but I read somewhere that the developer(s) used vibe coding to create the app so...

  • These alleged high standards women hold are largely imaginary. It's only kind of like that on dating apps, and that's because they're 80% male, so women HAVE to be picky.

    I agree. High standards and common ideas of "right" are generally present among people insecure and easily gaslighted.

    Such as those that would use this app. Point?

  • Honestly it seems like a weapon that can too easily be used for defamation

    How dare you!
    The misogyny!

  • Wow just two days ago I see a post about how Lemmy is dominated by men and how that could become a problem, and today I see a comment section where all the incels come out of the woodwork.

    "waaa somebody wants to solve a problem that has never affected me I'm the victim"

    "omg what if people talk behind my back they might find out I'm an asshole? literally 1984"

    "wadabout if this app was racist?!? checkmate"

    I'm not saying this app is good or bad (I can definitely see the problems) but if an article about cybersecurity gets posted and this is our first reaction, makes me lose hope in Lemmy.

    Edit: Responses have made very good points and I think I was off, thanks guys. I still think some of the early comments I encountered were rather reactionary

    “waaa somebody wants to solve a problem that has never affected me I’m the victim”

    Everyone has the problem that they'd want to discuss others behind their back. It's not accepted because it doesn't work to any good end.

    “omg what if people talk behind my back they might find out I’m an asshole? literally 1984”

    You won't find out anything from this. People sometimes lie, especially in such situations.

    but if an article about cybersecurity gets posted and this is our first reaction, makes me lose hope in Lemmy.

    Human adequacy is a big part of cybersecurity.

  • it seems its an app that helps women flag potential dating candidates as being dangerous or red flags.

    there is the potential for doxxing that comes with that, but I can absolutely understand its use and need when not abused in that manner.

    i wonder if there's the potential for a different app with more encryption and a way to prevent doxxing and abuse.

    i wonder if there’s the potential for a different app with more encryption and a way to prevent doxxing and abuse.

    Encryption, sure.
    Preventing doxxing? I highly doubt it. But hey, it's women doing it so it's ok and anyone who criticizes that is an incel.

  • Wow just two days ago I see a post about how Lemmy is dominated by men and how that could become a problem, and today I see a comment section where all the incels come out of the woodwork.

    "waaa somebody wants to solve a problem that has never affected me I'm the victim"

    "omg what if people talk behind my back they might find out I'm an asshole? literally 1984"

    "wadabout if this app was racist?!? checkmate"

    I'm not saying this app is good or bad (I can definitely see the problems) but if an article about cybersecurity gets posted and this is our first reaction, makes me lose hope in Lemmy.

    Edit: Responses have made very good points and I think I was off, thanks guys. I still think some of the early comments I encountered were rather reactionary

    i mean...an app directly copying a black mirror episode (but almost exclusively targeting a specific demographic) does ring some very, VERY loud alarm bells...

    like, this is literally the plot of nosedive.

    it's a social credit system.

    and none of the people even know they HAVE a score, so it's somehow even worse than the fictional scenario.

    this will, absolutely, hurt innocents and it will do so by design.

    "fuck them innocents!"...just because they happen to be men?

    how is that anything other than misandrist?

    how is that defensible?

    how is doxxing, mass libel, and targeted harassment a solution to sexism and rape culture?

    I'd be really interested in hearing anything about how this is supposed to help women, because i struggle to see how sowing massive, unearned distrust between men and women is going to make anyone any safer...

    I'm really, REALLY glad that the GDPR would nuke this sort of nonsense from orbit...uploading pictures of strangers, for the explicit purpose of gossiping about them behind their backs, spreading awful rumors?

    what. the. actual. fuck. is wrong with you people?

    and i don't mean women, or men: i mean americans and their total disregard for privacy and digital safety. what the hell...

  • There's definitely a use case, but there's an inherent power imbalance to these products that makes sure they will always be misused. The submitters are anonymous, and it's up to the person being reported on to prove the accusations are false.

    Or, they're supposed to be anonymous.

    it’s up to the person being reported on to prove the accusations are false.

    The person doesn't even know they're mentioned in the app.

  • Wow just two days ago I see a post about how Lemmy is dominated by men and how that could become a problem, and today I see a comment section where all the incels come out of the woodwork.

    "waaa somebody wants to solve a problem that has never affected me I'm the victim"

    "omg what if people talk behind my back they might find out I'm an asshole? literally 1984"

    "wadabout if this app was racist?!? checkmate"

    I'm not saying this app is good or bad (I can definitely see the problems) but if an article about cybersecurity gets posted and this is our first reaction, makes me lose hope in Lemmy.

    Edit: Responses have made very good points and I think I was off, thanks guys. I still think some of the early comments I encountered were rather reactionary

    You make a valid point, this platform absolutely shits on anyone without technical knowledge, just look at the hundred or so smug replies telling you what flavor of Linux they run if you mention a problem with Windows. So, no surprise everyone is focusing on that, and not the human aspect here.

    Having said that, there is a power imbalance to this that I really don't like, the accuser gets to hide behind a veil of anonymity, and the accused has their name published, and is forced to defend themselves.

  • it’s up to the person being reported on to prove the accusations are false.

    The person doesn't even know they're mentioned in the app.

    Which is even worse, because unless someone tells them, they're blissfully unaware.

    With most forms of Libel, at least the victim will see it in a timely manner.

  • You make a valid point, this platform absolutely shits on anyone without technical knowledge, just look at the hundred or so smug replies telling you what flavor of Linux they run if you mention a problem with Windows. So, no surprise everyone is focusing on that, and not the human aspect here.

    Having said that, there is a power imbalance to this that I really don't like, the accuser gets to hide behind a veil of anonymity, and the accused has their name published, and is forced to defend themselves.

    So, no surprise everyone is focusing on that, and not the human aspect here.

    This is a technology community and the article is specifically about a security breach that exposed massive amounts of sensitive user data.

  • Change the target to any other group and the outrage would be 100-10000 fold bigger.

    Try it out, instead of Women rating men, try subbing in various minority groups or races.

    Bonus points for the most offensive combinations.....

    e.g. Russians rating Ukrainians in your area....it can get pretty bad...I can think of many worse combos.

    I'm sorry but I'll just say it out right: new feminists are the absolute worst

    Don't get me wrong, I'm all for equality where possible. Where isn't equality possible? Well I'd like to conceive a child, but the plumbing isn't exactly useful for that. That sort of thing. Beyond that, were all the same, and IDGAF about your skin color, sexual preferences or whatever. I live by live and Let live, don't be an asshole, it's not that hard to be respectful

    New feminists though are the ones coming up with ideas like this website. On the surface, anyone could say that it's not a bad thing to have a place for women to talk about how to protect themselves. In reality though, it's a place where men, innocent or not, get doxxed and made to be rapists.

    There are some subs here on Lemmy as well that were very sad to see this shitshow of a website go, lamenting the fact that now they need a different place to dex people. Try not to tell them that doxxing is bad, it gets you banned.

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    Lots of men in this thread real upset about this app pointing out how the majority men are shit

  • Lots of men in this thread real upset about this app pointing out how the majority men are shit

    Defaming people without giving them a chance to defend themselves, talk about shit people...

  • i wonder if there’s the potential for a different app with more encryption and a way to prevent doxxing and abuse.

    Encryption, sure.
    Preventing doxxing? I highly doubt it. But hey, it's women doing it so it's ok and anyone who criticizes that is an incel.

    wha? i didn't say anything about incels. or that doxxing is ok.

  • Hey Nima, I heard you like have to sex with dogs.

    Good luck proving you dont.

    uh hello! ok? not sure what your fetishes have to do with the conversation that was taking place. maybe you're from the UK and you're missing porn?

    But I wish you the best of luck in your search for whatever porn you like.

  • I'm certainly no web security expert, but shouldn't Tea's junior network/backend/security developers, let alone seniors, know how to secure said Firebase or S3 buckets with STARTTLS or SSL certificates? Shouldn't a company like this have some sort of compliance department?

    It's a little more complex than that. If you want the app on the user device to be able to dump data directly into your online database, you have to give it access in some way. Encrypting the transmission doesn't do much if every app installation contains access credentials that can be extracted or sniffed.

    Obviously there are ways around this too, but it's not just "use TLS".

  • Honestly it seems like a weapon that can too easily be used for defamation

    I mean, yes, but does that take priority over women who are worried about their safety? There's been women doing this over local Facebook groups for a long time. Defamation of this sort is not a new issue.

  • It's a little more complex than that. If you want the app on the user device to be able to dump data directly into your online database, you have to give it access in some way. Encrypting the transmission doesn't do much if every app installation contains access credentials that can be extracted or sniffed.

    Obviously there are ways around this too, but it's not just "use TLS".

    Encrypting the transmission doesn't do much if every app installation contains access credentials that can be extracted or sniffed.

    Encrypt the credentials then? Or OAUTH pipeline, perhaps? Automated temporary private key generation for each upload (that sounds unrealistic, to be fair)? Can credentialing be used for intermediary storage that encrypts the data on that server and then decrypted on the database host?

    Clearly my utter "noobishness" is showing, but at least it's triggering a slight urge to casually peruse modern WebSec production workflows. I am a DNN researcher. Thus, I am far removed from customer-facing production environments, and it shows.

    Any recommendations on literature or articles on how engineers solve these problems in a "best practices" way that you can recommend? I suppose I could just look it up, but I thought I'd ask.

    Edit: I don't know why I'm down-voted. My questions were sincere.

  • Lots of men in this thread real upset about this app pointing out how the majority men are shit

    It's an antisocial surveillance system for antisocial people, and creates a(n even more) antagonistic relationship between men and women.

    Dating apps have been a disaster for dating, and this is perhaps the worst among them.

  • It's a little more complex than that. If you want the app on the user device to be able to dump data directly into your online database, you have to give it access in some way. Encrypting the transmission doesn't do much if every app installation contains access credentials that can be extracted or sniffed.

    Obviously there are ways around this too, but it's not just "use TLS".

    Wouldn't some sort of proxy in between the bucket and the client app solve this problem? I feel like you could even set up an endpoint on your backend that manages the upload. In other words, why is it necessary for the client app to connect directly with the bucket?

    Maybe I'm not understanding the gist of the problem

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    GoFundMe supports genocide.
  • Elon Musk's X slams French criminal investigation

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    Actually there was just yesterday a story about Corning (The maker of Gorilla glass), that was accused by EU for anti competitive behavior, where Corning entered in positive dialogue, and stated they intended to work fully within regulation. https://lemmy.world/post/33255689 Corning, the US-based manufacturer of Gorilla Glass, has successfully avoided potential European Union antitrust fines of up to $1.25 billion by agreeing to a set of legally binding commitments that address concerns over its exclusive supply agreements for specialty glass used in smartphones and other handheld devices. So yes Musk is an ass, also compared to other companies. And his reaction is confrontational, which is not normal behavior.
  • Best BPO Company in UK

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  • What is SIEM (Security Information and Event Management)?

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    Sure, the internet is more practical, and the odds of being caught in the time required to execute a decent strike plan, even one as vague as: "we're going to Amerika and we're going to hit 50 high profile targets on July 4th, one in every state" (Dear NSA analyst, this is entirely hypothetical) so your agents spread to the field and start assessing from the ground the highest impact targets attainable with their resources, extensive back and forth from the field to central command daily for 90 days of prep, but it's being carried out on 270 different active social media channels as innocuous looking photo exchanges with 540 pre-arranged algorithms hiding the messages in the noise of the image bits. Chances of security agencies picking this up from the communication itself? About 100x less than them noticing 50 teams of activists deployed to 50 states at roughly the same time, even if they never communicate anything. HF (more often called shortwave) is well suited for the numbers game. A deep cover agent lying in wait, potentially for years. Only "tell" is their odd habit of listening to the radio most nights. All they're waiting for is a binary message: if you hear the sequence 3 17 22 you are to make contact for further instructions. That message may come at any time, or may not come for a decade. These days, you would make your contact for further instructions via internet, and sure, it would be more practical to hide the "make contact" signal in the internet too, but shortwave is a longstanding tech with known operating parameters.
  • Is Google about to destroy the web?

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    Or validating source, making sure it isn't AI content which usually regurgitates the same talking points. Homogenizing the entire query and removing actual information variance of personal experience.
  • Why doesn't Nvidia have more competition?

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    It’s funny how the article asks the question, but completely fails to answer it. About 15 years ago, Nvidia discovered there was a demand for compute in datacenters that could be met with powerful GPU’s, and they were quick to respond to it, and they had the resources to focus on it strongly, because of their huge success and high profitability in the GPU market. AMD also saw the market, and wanted to pursue it, but just over a decade ago where it began to clearly show the high potential for profitability, AMD was near bankrupt, and was very hard pressed to finance developments on GPU and compute in datacenters. AMD really tried the best they could, and was moderately successful from a technology perspective, but Nvidia already had a head start, and the proprietary development system CUDA was already an established standard that was very hard to penetrate. Intel simply fumbled the ball from start to finish. After a decade of trying to push ARM down from having the mobile crown by far, investing billions or actually the equivalent of ARM’s total revenue. They never managed to catch up to ARM despite they had the better production process at the time. This was the main focus of Intel, and Intel believed that GPU would never be more than a niche product. So when intel tried to compete on compute for datacenters, they tried to do it with X86 chips, One of their most bold efforts was to build a monstrosity of a cluster of Celeron chips, which of course performed laughably bad compared to Nvidia! Because as it turns out, the way forward at least for now, is indeed the massively parralel compute capability of a GPU, which Nvidia has refined for decades, only with (inferior) competition from AMD. But despite the lack of competition, Nvidia did not slow down, in fact with increased profits, they only grew bolder in their efforts. Making it even harder to catch up. Now AMD has had more money to compete for a while, and they do have some decent compute units, but Nvidia remains ahead and the CUDA problem is still there, so for AMD to really compete with Nvidia, they have to be better to attract customers. That’s a very tall order against Nvidia that simply seems to never stop progressing. So the only other option for AMD is to sell a bit cheaper. Which I suppose they have to. AMD and Intel were the obvious competitors, everybody else is coming from even further behind. But if I had to make a bet, it would be on Huawei. Huawei has some crazy good developers, and Trump is basically forcing them to figure it out themselves, because he is blocking Huawei and China in general from using both AMD and Nvidia AI chips. And the chips will probably be made by Chinese SMIC, because they are also prevented from using advanced production in the west, most notably TSMC. China will prevail, because it’s become a national project, of both prestige and necessity, and they have a massive talent mass and resources, so nothing can stop it now. IMO USA would clearly have been better off allowing China to use American chips. Now China will soon compete directly on both production and design too.
  • CrowdStrike Announces Layoffs Affecting 500 Employees

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    This is where the magic of near meaningless corpo-babble comes in. The layoffs are part of a plan to aspirationally acheive the goal of $10b revenue by EoY 2025. What they are actually doing is a significant restructuring of the company, refocusing by outside hiring some amount of new people to lead or be a part of departments or positions that haven't existed before, or are being refocused to other priorities... ... But this process also involves laying off 500 of the 'least productive' or 'least mission critical' employees. So, technically, they can, and are, arguing that their new organizational paradigm will be so succesful that it actually will result in increased revenue, not just lower expenses. Generally corpos call this something like 'right-sizing' or 'refocusing' or something like that. ... But of course... anyone with any actual experience with working at a place that does this... will tell you roughly this is what happens: Turns out all those 'grunts' you let go of, well they actually do a lot more work in a bunch of weird, esoteric, bandaid solutions to keep everything going, than upper management was aware of... because middle management doesn't acknowledge or often even understand that that work was being done, because they are generally self-aggrandizing narcissist petty tyrants who spend more time in meetings fluffing themselves up than actually doing any useful management. Then, also, you are now bringing on new, outside people who look great on paper, to lead new or modified apartments... but they of course also do not have any institutional knowledge, as they are new. So now, you have a whole bunch of undocumented work that was being done, processes which were being followed... which is no longer being done, which is not documented.... and the new guys, even if they have the best intentions, now have to spend a quarter or two or three figuring out just exactly how much pre-existing middle management has been bullshitting about, figuring out just how much things do not actually function as they ssid it did... So now your efficiency improving restructuring is actually a chaotic mess. ... Now, this 'right sizing' is not always apocalyptically extremely bad, but it is also essentially never totally free from hiccups... and it increases stress, workload, and tensions between basically everyone at the company, to some extent. Here's Forbes explanation of this phenomenon, if you prefer an explanation of right sizing in corpospeak: https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/rightsizing/