image: ten-second long exposure shot of the night sky facing North, in the northern hemisphere at midsummer. Both the dust tail as well as the ion gas tail of comet NEOWISE are visible, pointing upwards perpendicular to the horizon.

New Comet Visible Across Northern Skies

Stillwater, MN – Comet NEOWISE has been appearing to stargazers on planet Earth over the past several weeks. It was discovered in March ~300 million kilometers away from the Sun, closer than the asteroid belt, though its orbit is tilted slightly from that of the…

Locating Missing Persons Using Open-Source Intelligence at DEFCON 27

Las Vegas, NV – At DEFCON 27 in Las Vegas, Unicorn Riot spoke with the organizers of an event where participants were asked to find information on real missing people in a competition called Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) Missing Persons Capture The Flag (CTF).

Many people…

Hacking LIDAR: Changing What Autonomous Vehicles See

Las Vegas, NV – In the near future, automobile manufacturers are expected to begin rolling out autonomous driving vehicles that use Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) lasers to see objects, roads, and people.

These driver-less vehicles will soon be cruising down every major city street,…

FBI Considered Espionage Act Charges Against WikiLeaks Over Declassified Files

In late 2011 and early 2012, the FBI considered Espionage Act charges on an alleged “WikiLeaks breach” in which “classified information may have been downloaded” according to a newly released document under a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The FBI “discovered”  that this “may…

OmniaTV, Grassroots Independent Media in Greece

Athens, Greece – Operating voluntarily and organized horizontally, the grassroots independent media collective OmniaTV, has functioned out of necessity since 2011. Striving to bring out truths misrepresented in Greek media and covering under-reported stories, OmniaTV stands out as a viable alternative non-profit media source as…

Gab Woes Continue: Subpoena from Pennsylvania Attorney General

Harrisburg, PA – The controversial social network Gab, closely linked with white supremacist and fascist organizers since its launch, has drawn public scrutiny and had hosting difficulties since Robert Bowers, a prolific Gab user, shot and killed 11 people worshipping at a Jewish synagogue in…