I’ve posted a detailed explanation of why the claimed ESP32 Bluetooth chip “backdoor” is not a backdoor. It’s just a poor security practice, which is found in other Bluetooth chips by vendors like Broadcom, Cypress, and Texas Instruments too. https://darkmentor.com/blog/esp32_non-backdoor/

(De)Merit Badges

https://tested-store.com/collections/demerit-badges

I need something like these for the next #failnight!

The tension between vulnerability power and exploit technique flexibility

https://pacibsp.github.io/2025/the-tension-between-vulnerability-power-and-exploit-technique-flexibility.html

Stop devaluing your writing by slapping an ugly as fuck error-ridden AI image on your article/blogpost/newsletter.

half-life alpha running under wx86 on a wii

at 3fps at most - in a 320x240 window (it doesnt even reach 1fps in 640x480 fullscreen) - but it does run

the actual rtm doesn't show any valid display modes for some reason

@tmr232 On Friday I managed to extend a 20mins trip to 40 by wandering my neighborhood as if I was on a different planet. It's spring I guess?

The second oldest digital computer in the world is now working 🙂🤷‍♂️

Well done @usagielectric for getting it in a running state!

https://youtu.be/1XIX1K6tyqg

The oldest is the Harwell Dekatron at @tnmoc in Bletchley Park, which is also very cool and well worth visiting 😁🖖

#ComputerHistory #RetroComputing

It's easy to get scared when headlines combine terms like "backdoor", "Bluetooth", and "a billion devices".

Should you be worried? No.

The "attack" for ESP32 chips in some Internet of Things devices is some undocumented commands that are likely to be for testing by the manufacturer, Espressif, the in the factory. It cannot spread from one device to another like a virus/worm, and it takes a lot more than being within Bluetooth range -- it requires physical access to I/O pins on the chip itself or access to a USB port (if one is present). That's just the standard way to flash the firmware. It should go without saying that if a malicious person has physical access to the inside of your device then you may have more security concerns.

It's been fascinating to watch the propagation of fear and misinformation in a niche where I have dabbled enough to develop a bit of technical proficiency.

My interpretation of events is that Tarlogic Security is spreading panic to gain attention or notoriety.

Undocumented "backdoor" found in Bluetooth chip used by a billion devices:
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/undocumented-backdoor-found-in-bluetooth-chip-used-by-a-billion-devices/

NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) has a CVE:
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-27840

Edit to update:

Espressif’s Response to Claimed Backdoor and Undocumented Commands in ESP32 Bluetooth Stack
https://www.espressif.com/en/news/Response_ESP32_Bluetooth

#ESP32 #Espressif #TarlogicSecurity #IoT #InternetOfThings

@tychotithonus Right, I was thinking more along the lines of state-level censorship.

@lcamtuf What if they try to implant sleeping agents to spread communist ideology among cat owners?

@tychotithonus Not sure if that's a technical constraint (you do know what your scrapers touch) or just a temporary state of affairs. Fine-tuning/RLHF also look like good places for intervention to layman me.

@tychotithonus Sounds strongly related to the problem of dataset bias.

Schrödinger's audit: Companies are found compliant until they are compromised, in which case they will always be found out of compliance.

@david_chisnall I think the parentheses placement is a typo here: "and one that (as an open-source platform, we strongly encourage!)"

Today I realized I need a portable pencil holder for my books (mostly the technical ones) so I won't search in panic when I want to take some super important notes.

After a quick search using an adjustable elastic band is a straightforward design, but I like the binder clip idea even better:

https://www.wendaful.com/2017/03/diy-make-elastic-pen-loop-holder/

#books #diy

@bert_hubert Also, it goes both ways - the UK had a 15% work share with other partner nations having smaller but significant shares. If the US got silly about F35s in Europe, we could ground or cause significant inconvenience to the US fleet (particularly the USMC F35B variant, with its Rolls Royce lift fan). As much as MAGA hates globalisation, F35 cooperation is unlikely to be at risk.

For the people speculating about "jailbreaking" the F35 so you could fly it without US support. The thing is so maintenance heavy it won't fly after a week if you stop supplying it proprietary parts and loving US vendor help. The software is only a tiny thing relatively speaking. This goes for a lot of high-end military kit.

The recent news about an alleged backdoor in #ESP32 chips is largely overhyped, but it’s a good opportunity to explain how we designed #CHERIoT to make this kind of attack almost impossible by construction.

SCI and the CHERI Alliance will both be at Embedded World next week. Come and talk to us about CHERIoT and how you can adopt it with SCI’s ICENI chips in your next products.