GlitzyArmrest

Attackers have transformed hundreds of hacked sites running WordPress software into command-and-control servers that force visitors’ browsers to perform password-cracking attacks.

A web search for the JavaScript that performs the attack showed it was hosted on 708 sites at the time this post went live on Ars, up from 500 two days ago. Denis Sinegubko, the researcher who spotted the campaign, said at the time that he had seen thousands of visitor computers running the script, which caused them to reach out to thousands of domains in an attempt to guess the passwords of usernames with accounts on them.

Visitors unwittingly recruited

“This is how thousands of visitors across hundreds of infected websites unknowingly and simultaneously try to bruteforce thousands of other third-party WordPress sites,” Sinegubko wrote. “And since the requests come from the browsers of real visitors, you can imagine this is a challenge to filter and block such requests.”

Like the hacked websites hosting the malicious JavaScript, all the targeted domains are running the WordPress content management system. The script—just 3 kilobits in size—reaches out to an attacker-controlled getTaskURL, which in turn provides the name of a specific user on a specific WordPress site, along with 100 common passwords. When this data is fed into the browser visiting the hacked site, it attempts to log into the targeted user account using the candidate passwords. The JavaScript operates in a loop, requesting tasks from the getTaskURL reporting the results to the completeTaskURL, and then performing the steps again and again.

China’s hackers-for-hire take government officials out for lavish banquets, binge drinking and late-night karaoke with young women in a bid to win favor and business, as revealed in a highly unusual leak last month of internal documents from a private contractor linked to Chinese police.

China’s hacking industry is vast in size and scope but also suffers from shady business practices, disgruntlement over pay and work quality, and poor security protocols, the documents show.

Private hacking contractors are companies that steal data from other countries to sell to the Chinese authorities. Over the past two decades, Chinese state security’s demand for overseas intelligence has soared, giving rise to a vast network of these private hackers-for-hire companies that have infiltrated hundreds of systems outside China.

Though the existence of these hacking contractors is an open secret in China, little was known about how they operate. But the leaked documents from a firm called I-Soon have pulled back the curtain, revealing a seedy, sprawling industry where corners are cut and rules are murky and poorly enforced in the quest to make money.

The federal judge who oversaw a New York defamation trial that resulted in an $83.3 million award to a longtime magazine columnist who says Donald Trump raped her in the 1990s refused Thursday to relieve the ex-president from the verdict's financial pinch.

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan told Trump's attorney in a written order that he won't delay deadlines for posting a bond that would ensure 80-year-old writer E. Jean Carroll can be paid the award if the judgment survives appeals.

The judge said any financial harm to the Republican front-runner for the presidency results from his slow response to the late-January verdict in the defamation case resulting from statements Trump made about Carroll while he was president in 2019 after she revealed her claims against him in a memoir.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republicans in Iowa’s House of Representatives approved a bill Thursday that would criminalize the death of an “unborn person” — over Democrats’ concerns about how it might apply to in vitro fertilization, after an Alabama court found frozen embryos can be considered children.

Iowa’s law currently outlines penalties for termination or serious injury to a “human pregnancy,” but the proposed bill would amend the language to pertain to “causing of death of, or serious injury to, an unborn person,” defined as “an individual organism … from fertilization to live birth.”

It’s one of many bills being considered by state Legislatures around the country that would expand legal and constitutional protections for embryos and fetuses, a long-time goal of the anti-abortion movement.

The bill still would need to pass the state Senate and be signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds to become law.

R2 is our versatile new midsize SUV with room for five people and all their gear.

Designed for big adventures as well as everyday use with its exceptional utility, performance and capability, R2 is expected to start around $45,000* and is available to reserve today in the U.S. for $100 ($150 in Canada). R2 deliveries are slated to begin in the first half of 2026.

R3 is a midsize crossover designed with even tighter dimensions and at a lower price point than R2.

R3X is the performance variant of R3. It further demonstrates the scalability of our midsize platform and delivers even more dynamic capabilities both on- and off-road.

R2 and R3 will feature two battery sizes. The larger pack will achieve over 300 miles of range on a single charge and offer 0-60 mph acceleration in under 3 seconds for the quickest powertrain configuration.

R2 and R3 are built on an all-new midsize vehicle platform, developed to deliver amazing performance, range and cost efficiency.

This platform consolidates and eliminates parts thanks to intelligent design, including the use of high pressure die castings, a structural battery unit where the top of the pack also serves as the floor, and closure systems that dramatically reduce complexity. R2 and R3 also utilize Rivian’s drivetrain platform and internally developed network architecture, computer topology and software stack.

Three Motor Variants: Leveraging Rivian’s in-house drive unit platform and technology, there will be Single-Motor (RWD), Dual-Motor (AWD), and Tri-Motor (two motors in rear and one in front) configurations, with the quickest configuration delivering 0-60 mph in under 3 seconds.

Structural Battery: Utilizes an all-new 4695 cell that offers significant improvements in energy density and output, estimated to deliver over 300 miles of range on a single charge for both R2 and R3.

Fast Charging:* DC fast charging is compatible with both NACS (native) and CCS (with adapter), charging from 10% to 80% in less than 30 minutes.

Self Driving: Utilizing our new perception stack featuring 11 cameras, five radars and a more powerful compute platform, R2 and R3 will provide dramatically enhanced autonomous capabilities.

Ever improving and expanding features: As with all Rivian vehicles, Rivian has developed its network architecture, topology of computers and associated full software platform to facilitate frequent software updates – the headroom for feature growth over time is extremely exciting.

**R2 and R3 demonstrate how Rivian’s unmistakable design language adapts to different vehicle sizes and form factors. **

R2's four passenger windows and rear powered glass drop fully, and the powered rear quarter windows vent to invite the outside in, creating a unique open-air driving experience.

With R3, its hatch-style design maximizes space while keeping a sporty, athletic silhouette.

Interior Space

With an extreme focus on rear passenger legroom, even long trips in R2 and R3 are comfortable. With the seats folding completely flat, ample sized front and rear trunks, and additional interior storage, there is space for everyone and all their gear.

Refined Touches

Rivian’s new steering wheel with integrated haptic control dials makes it easier to stay focused on the road ahead.

Materials balance durability and sustainability with easy to clean textiles and finishes.

A new line of Rivian Adventure Gear is also on the horizon.

We'll start later this year with our new Travel Kitchen and Hangout Lights. We are also looking forward to expanding the Adventure Gear assortment in the future with the Rivian Treehouse, our take on the rooftop tent bringing the nostalgia of an epic childhood fort with a lighting system, interior fan and incredible views.

Our custom Bike Mount holds up to two bikes and simply snaps into place easily using our Rear Accessory Ports, no tools needed. Our Cargo Box provides additional storage and can also be paired with our Travel Kitchen to expand your culinary suite with a Water Tank, Cooler and Cookware Set.

Reservations for R2 start today with a refundable deposit of $100 for U.S. residents and $150 for Canadian residents.

Reservations for R3, R3X and for international residents interested in R2 will follow at a later date.

An owner’s promise to rebuild and reopen a historic Bremerton market that erupted in flames in 2021 has come to fruition about two years later.

The newly remodeled Midtown Market at 1534 6th St. reopened in late February after being damaged by fire and smoke. Despite the devastation felt by owner Akash Juneja and his family, who acquired the store in 2018, a promise motivated by the support of the community was made days after the blaze.

“People like to support local,” Juneja said. “You go to a bigger store where they don’t have that personal touch, they miss that part. We are here as a community, a family.”

Standing in the middle of the market’s newest layout, Juneja and shoppers alike believe the fire may have ended up being a blessing. “We made it, and we’re here,” he said. “We’re bigger and better with a beautiful store, and we couldn’t do it without the community.”

Customer Lance McCoy added: “I’ve been coming to this market since 1974, and this is the absolute best it’s ever looked. It’s weird how things work out like this.”

Tuesday marked a sure sign of the approach of the forthcoming season: For the first time this year, the sun set after 6 p.m. in Seattle.

As things outside are blooming and brightening, we’ll continue our ride of increasing daylight through June 21, when we’ll have nearly 16 hours of daylight and a 9:11 p.m. sunset.

But if you can’t wait until June for later sunsets, you’re in luck. Just around the corner, on Sunday, we’ll all spin our clocks one hour forward due to daylight saving time. The sun will set that day at 7:08 p.m., according to Time and Date.

Winter will have us in its frigid grasp a little longer this week before making room for springlike conditions.

It will be a “very quiet” start to the day Wednesday in Western Washington, according to the National Weather Service, although a large swatch of clouds over the Olympic Peninsula may seep eastward into the Interstate 5 corridor by the morning commute.

The gnarled icon of the Old West — ominously featured in movies as gunslingers square off on dusty streets and townsfolk shake behind curtained windows — rolled in over the weekend and kept rolling until blanketing some homes and streets in suburban Salt Lake City.

Crews on Tuesday continued to plow, load and haul carcasses of twisted and dried tumbleweeds from neighborhoods in South Jordan, Utah, four days after scores of the beachball-sized plants were bounced in by heavy winds.

“People woke up Saturday morning and it looked like these huge walls had been erected made of tumbleweed,” said Dawn Ramsey, South Jordan’s mayor. “We had entire streets in some of our neighborhoods completely blocked. They wrapped around homes.”

Renton police said Tuesday that detectives suspect foul play in the disappearance of Reyna Hernandez, who was last seen Feb. 26. Friends reported two days later that Hernandez hadn’t returned home, answered her phone or shown up to work at her hair salon in the Renton Highlands.

Detectives found evidence indicating Hernandez was taken against her will, according to police.

A friend told police he spoke with Hernandez as she was running errands the morning of Feb. 26 and told him she was going to a home in south Renton.

Police said family and friends still hadn’t heard from Hernandez on Tuesday, which is highly unusual. She isn’t answering her phone.

Hernandez has black hair and hazel eyes, and she stands 6 feet tall and 210 pounds, according to police. Detectives are also searching for her car, a white and maroon Ford Flex with Washington plates APR9503, though they don’t believe the vehicle is in the area.

Police ask anyone who sees Hernandez or her vehicle to call 911 immediately.

The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office is on the lookout for a man allegedly posing as a law enforcement officer and making traffic stops.

A woman called 911 after she said she was pulled over in a Feb. 24 traffic stop conducted south of the Port Orchard city limits. The behavior of the man was described as suspicious, and a KCSO investigation determined that no state or local agency had made the stop.

“The suspect was driving a dark 4-door Dodge Charger with a spotlight on the driver’s side and the word ‘Washington’ on the side of the car,” a Feb. 26 KCSO release said. “The vehicle had red and blue emergency lights installed in the front grill, but no lights on its roof.”

Police are warning residents to take caution when being stopped by someone who appears to be law enforcement. “Do not stop in a dark or secluded area, but proceed to the safest closest location to stop.”

Anyone with tips is asked to call 911 or email [email protected] or [email protected].

PORT ORCHARD — North Kitsap School District Superintendent Laurynn Evans on Wednesday entered into a pretrial diversion agreement while appearing at Kitsap County District Court to face a misdemeanor charge of removing or defacing political advertising.

Under terms of the diversion agreement reached by county deputy prosecutor Anna Fredenberg and Evans' attorney, Tim Kelly, the misdemeanor charge will be dismissed as long as Evans meets certain conditions as explained by Kitsap County District Court Judge Jeffrey Jahns. Those conditions include paying $332 in restitution to cover the cost of the signs and not committing another criminal law violation for six months. Evans also cannot contact Scott Henden or Kim Gerlach, the residents who initially reported the missing signs, with the exception being at a North Kitsap school board meeting.

Henden and Gerlach told law enforcement on Jan. 26 that they witnessed Evans removing signs opposing the school district's February bond measure. The Kitsap County Sheriff's Office investigated the incident and the Kitsap County Prosecutor's Office on Feb. 21 charged Evans with the crime.

Diversion agreements are not uncommon for defendants facing first-time misdemeanor charges.

Jahns told Evans if she violates the conditions of the diversion agreement, the court would review the Jan. 26 police report — and only the police report — to determine if she committed the misdemeanor offense, which carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

"It is very likely that if a judge were to review those, you would be found guilty of the offense," Jahns said. "While I recognize that there is no prior history that the court is aware, I want to say that this is a serious change. It involved allegedly election interference by a public official. If you violate this agreement, it is likely you would serve some jail time."

Evans, who denied taking the signs when interviewed by law enforcement on Jan. 26, left the courthouse without offering comment. She is currently on paid administrative leave.

Henden and Gerlach were among of small group of North Kitsap citizens who attended Evans' court appearance. Henden opted against offering comment when given the opportunity by Jahns. Gerlach submitted a written statement to the Kitsap Sun in which she thanked Kitsap County Prosecuting Attorney Chad Enright's office and the district court for handling the case. Regarding the North Kitsap school board, Gerlach said it's time for the directors to address the "moral aspects" of Evans' actions.

"Currently, the North Kitsap School Board and Administration have shown a lack of integrity and accountability," Gerlach wrote. "Students and staff of North Kitsap School District deserve leadership that is accountable and holds high moral standards. Public outcry at the school board meeting last Thursday spoke loud and clear, now is the time for the North Kitsap School Board to call a special meeting. It is a time for (board president) Mike Desmond and the school board directors to discharge (Evans) and terminate her contract, without giving a payout using funds intended for the needs of students."

Evans' contract with North Kitsap School District, which runs through June 2026, includes language noting that the superintendent could be discharged and the contract terminated for "sufficient cause." The district confirmed Wednesday afternoon that a separate investigation is ongoing.

North Kitsap School District Acting Superintendent Rachel Davenport provided the following email statement from the district:

"The district is aware of Dr. Evans’ court appearance this morning. We understand that there was a pretrial diversion reached with the court but we have not confirmed all of the details of the diversion. Separate from the legal proceedings, North Kitsap School District is conducting its own investigation into allegations against Dr. Evans. Because this is a personnel matter, the district must be careful not to undermine the ongoing investigation. Even at the conclusion of the district investigation, the information that we will be able to share will be limited.

"We hear and are taking stock of feedback from our community. The district is actively engaged in measures to address and resolve this challenging situation as soon as possible while maintaining fiscal responsibility for the district and keeping the school community at the heart of all decisions."

North Kitsap's next board meeting is scheduled for March 14 at the district's main office in Poulsbo.

After five pilots and trainees flying into Bremerton National Airport reported laser beams striking their windows while above the runway along Highway 3 on Tuesday, a man contacted by police on a nearby side road was charged with unlawful discharge of a laser, a felony.

On Tuesday morning three different aircraft reported to the airport's control tower that someone was shining a green laser from the ground at the planes, including one witness who said the laser struck her in the eye and caused a brief blindness and a headache that lasted approximately 20 minutes, according to court documents. Pilots in each of the three aircraft, two of which had students alongside flight instructors, identified the source of the laser as a silver sedan, seen from the air at different locations surrounding the airport.

Bremerton police were dispatched to the airport just after 1 p.m., after an airport employee located a silver Honda Civic parked on Airport Way SW, just south of the runway between the Amazon warehouse and the roundabout at Old Clifton Road, and called 911.

A 44-year-old Bremerton man was inside the car, and refused to answer when an officer asked why he was sitting in a parked car near the airport. The suspect also initially refused to provide his identification and told the officer that he was recording the interaction, according to a probable cause statement. No laser device was found in a search of his car, but due to multiple witnesses identifying his car as the source of the laser and the suspect's lack of an explanation for his behavior, the man was arrested and booked into Kitsap County Jail on $40,000 bail. He was charged in Kitsap County Superior Court Wednesday.

The first pilot interviewed told police he had been doing "touch and go" landings at the airport, and when doing a southbound landing saw the green laser come at the cockpit from his right side, west of the airport. He told police he looked over to see a silver sedan driving southbound on Highway 3.

A second pilot, who was instructing a trainee, told a different Bremerton officer that his plane was using the same runway, taking off in the same direction as the first plane, when it was struck by a green laser coming from the west as well, twice in about a ten-minute span. At one point the two filmed a silver car on Old Clifton Road that showed the laser light coming from it, and the pilot also had a clear view of a silver sedan as the plane flew overhead, parked west of Highway 3 on a short paved connector road to Imperial Way in the Port of Bremerton's Industrial Park. The trainee in that plane told police her eyes were "spotting" after seeing the laser, and she experienced a headache. The pilot also reported a feeling of temporary blindness.

he third plane to report being struck, also with a flight instructor and student inside, told police that the laser struck their windows twice, also coming from the west at a site specifically described as on Imperial Way. The pilot also described a "silver car, like a Honda sedan," matching the testimony of witnesses in the first two planes.

The Honda was contacted by police on Airport Way, just across Highway 3 from Imperial Way and before the road's roundabout with Old Clifton Road.

State law specifically includes airplane pilots in the description of the crime of unlawfully discharging a laser, prohibiting action "causing an impairment of the safety or operation of an aircraft or causing an interruption or impairment of service rendered to the public by negatively affecting the pilot." The statute also applies to protection of law enforcement, firefighters, transit drivers and school bus drivers.