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Spy firm hacked
Alex Mustard/Naturepl.com
Upfront
Cod makes a comeback FISH and chips for all! The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) in Copenhagen, Denmark, has recommended the first major catch increase for North Sea cod since 2000, as it says the stock has climbed back above danger levels. Also, figures to be released later this year by Canada’s fisheries ministry show cod stocks on the Grand Banks are up for the third year in a row – although they aren’t out of danger yet. There’s no mystery to it, say fisheries experts on both sides of the Atlantic: fishers stopped killing so many cod, and the population recovered, although it took its time. EU ministers slashed North Sea catches in 2000, albeit by less than ICES recommended. Cod also began maturing sexually at younger ages,
possibly as an evolutionary response to depletion. Despite this, there was no clear recovery until 2013, when the biomass of adult, spawning cod in that area crossed what ICES considers the danger threshold of 120,000 tonnes. This was the first time since 1983. Meanwhile, cod populations on the northern Grand Banks remained low for years after overfishing caused them to crash, leaving the biomass of adult fish at only a few per cent of the level considered safe. But this started climbing in 2006, then accelerated. Another substantial jump is expected this year. Again, the cause is simple: no fishing. A 1992 moratorium on cod fishing on the Grand Banks remains in effect.
Ebola end game
Marie-Paule Kieny of the World Health Organization. Foreign teams fighting Ebola should be harnessed to “reboot” devastated health systems, she says. Beyond that, the world is at risk from future infectious outbreaks unless healthcare improves in 28 more countries where the situation is similar to that in the three stricken countries before Ebola hit – making these areas the most vulnerable. Kieny says countries should spend $84 per head to provide the absolute minimum care. Before Ebola hit, Guinea, for example, spent only $7.
–Out of danger, for now–
Spy firm hacked
as little as $50,000 a year, buying information that would let them install surveillance programmes remotely onto target computers. In a statement, company spokesman Eric Rabe disputed some of the reports around the hack but confirmed it had taken place.“We are investigating to determine the extent of this attack and specifically what has been taken,” he said. Edin Omanovic, at Privacy International, said the leak shows that the trade in surveillance technology should be more tightly regulated.
THE hunters become the hunted. On Monday hackers released what they claim is 400 GB of internal documents stolen from Hacking Team, an Italian company that sells surveillance
tools to intelligence agencies. The leaked documents suggest that Hacking Team marketed its products to a wide range of governments – including a number of repressive regimes. “The invoices are fascinating,” says Christopher Soghoian, at the American Civil Liberties Union. “Hacking Team has been selling its software to governments like Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Sudan, Vietnam and Ethiopia – a number of governments with documented histories of abusing human rights.” Soghoian says the documents show that government agencies appear to be able to subscribe for 6 | NewScientist | 11 July 2015
NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Southwest Research Institute
“The firm has been selling software to governments with histories of abusing human rights”
EBOLA is hanging on. For the past five weeks, there have been 20 to 27 new cases per week in Guinea and Sierra Leone, and last week there were three new cases in Liberia, which thought it was rid of the disease in early May. Rich countries meet in New York this week to pledge funds for rebuilding the countries’ health systems: aid given so far amounts to only two-thirds of the $2.1 billion they say they need by 2018. “This is about getting to zero [cases] and staying at zero,” says
Pluto probe hiccup A BUSY to-do list can frazzle your brain – even if you’re a spacecraft. Last Saturday NASA lost touch with its New Horizons probe, which is in the final days of its decade-long journey to Pluto. About 80 minutes later, mission controllers regained contact with the craft, which had gone into “safe mode”, where it stops collecting data. The incident was a one-off and won’t threaten any of –Dwarf planet ahead– the mission’s science, says NASA.
Upfront
Cod makes a comeback FISH and chips for all! The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) in Copenhagen, Denmark, has recommended the first major catch increase for North Sea cod since 2000, as it says the stock has climbed back above danger levels. Also, figures to be released later this year by Canada’s fisheries ministry show cod stocks on the Grand Banks are up for the third year in a row – although they aren’t out of danger yet. There’s no mystery to it, say fisheries experts on both sides of the Atlantic: fishers stopped killing so many cod, and the population recovered, although it took its time. EU ministers slashed North Sea catches in 2000, albeit by less than ICES recommended. Cod also began maturing sexually at younger ages,
possibly as an evolutionary response to depletion. Despite this, there was no clear recovery until 2013, when the biomass of adult, spawning cod in that area crossed what ICES considers the danger threshold of 120,000 tonnes. This was the first time since 1983. Meanwhile, cod populations on the northern Grand Banks remained low for years after overfishing caused them to crash, leaving the biomass of adult fish at only a few per cent of the level considered safe. But this started climbing in 2006, then accelerated. Another substantial jump is expected this year. Again, the cause is simple: no fishing. A 1992 moratorium on cod fishing on the Grand Banks remains in effect.
Ebola end game
Marie-Paule Kieny of the World Health Organization. Foreign teams fighting Ebola should be harnessed to “reboot” devastated health systems, she says. Beyond that, the world is at risk from future infectious outbreaks unless healthcare improves in 28 more countries where the situation is similar to that in the three stricken countries before Ebola hit – making these areas the most vulnerable. Kieny says countries should spend $84 per head to provide the absolute minimum care. Before Ebola hit, Guinea, for example, spent only $7.
–Out of danger, for now–
Spy firm hacked
as little as $50,000 a year, buying information that would let them install surveillance programmes remotely onto target computers. In a statement, company spokesman Eric Rabe disputed some of the reports around the hack but confirmed it had taken place.“We are investigating to determine the extent of this attack and specifically what has been taken,” he said. Edin Omanovic, at Privacy International, said the leak shows that the trade in surveillance technology should be more tightly regulated.
THE hunters become the hunted. On Monday hackers released what they claim is 400 GB of internal documents stolen from Hacking Team, an Italian company that sells surveillance
tools to intelligence agencies. The leaked documents suggest that Hacking Team marketed its products to a wide range of governments – including a number of repressive regimes. “The invoices are fascinating,” says Christopher Soghoian, at the American Civil Liberties Union. “Hacking Team has been selling its software to governments like Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Sudan, Vietnam and Ethiopia – a number of governments with documented histories of abusing human rights.” Soghoian says the documents show that government agencies appear to be able to subscribe for 6 | NewScientist | 11 July 2015
NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Southwest Research Institute
“The firm has been selling software to governments with histories of abusing human rights”
EBOLA is hanging on. For the past five weeks, there have been 20 to 27 new cases per week in Guinea and Sierra Leone, and last week there were three new cases in Liberia, which thought it was rid of the disease in early May. Rich countries meet in New York this week to pledge funds for rebuilding the countries’ health systems: aid given so far amounts to only two-thirds of the $2.1 billion they say they need by 2018. “This is about getting to zero [cases] and staying at zero,” says
Pluto probe hiccup A BUSY to-do list can frazzle your brain – even if you’re a spacecraft. Last Saturday NASA lost touch with its New Horizons probe, which is in the final days of its decade-long journey to Pluto. About 80 minutes later, mission controllers regained contact with the craft, which had gone into “safe mode”, where it stops collecting data. The incident was a one-off and won’t threaten any of –Dwarf planet ahead– the mission’s science, says NASA.