Heather Burns

@heatherburnstech

freelance UK tech policy x human rights / midlife MPhil student @ Strathclyde Law School, researching US tech policy x Christian Nationalism / IANAL / / 💬 on Signal / open to work, hire me pls / "bad ass Glaswegian" apparently

203 Siguiendo2974 Seguidores2494 Publicaciones

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Heather Burns@heatherburnstech· 20d

CalMac believe the same man involved was recently accused of inappropriate behaviour towards a 15-year-old during a far right Tommy Robinson rally in London.

The man in question, who describes himself as a 'video influencer', was allegedly filmed "sexually harassing" the teenager in front of her own mother.

One website reported that when told the girl's age, he replied: "F***ing hell. You need a warning sign on you."

Heather Burns@heatherburnstech· 20d

Apologies for screen caps from the hell site, but

Paul Moore - Security Consultant @Paul_Reviews

I must admit, it's been really difficult to remove emotion from this research project. Very long story short, anyone can track your child's live GPS location, enable/disable apps, send/receive messages/calls and disable ALL protection mechanisms remotely - including Harmblock Al. Much like the #EU #ageVerification app, this wasn't a complex "hack" or sophisticated attack. The technology is fundamentally broken by design and despite my best efforts, I can't convince #HMD to take appropriate action and pull the plug. Harmblock Al by @SafeToNet represents genuine & much-needed progress in this sector; efforts which are tainted by irresponsible companies who seemingly care not for #security or #privacy in any meaningful way. I have genuinely tried everything over the last 7 months; from multiple in- person meetings, late night group calls & lengthy technical discussions with all involved. Regrettably, the only responsible next step is a detailed post-mortem so parents/guardians can make an informed decision. I'm equally disheartened to see @jessphillips and @peterkyle promoting this, seemingly without a moment's due diligence. At the same time, @Ofcom continues to pursue foreign companies beyond their jurisdiction for unenforceable fines under the guise of child safety. It's truly farcical. I would kindly ask for your help in raising awareness.

0...

Paul Moore - Security Consultant y @Paul Reviews

PSA: Multiple Critical HMD Fuse / #HarmBlock+ Vulnerabilities Over the past seven months, l've responsibly disclosed multiple critical security vulnerabilities affecting the HMD Fuse and HarmBlock+ platform to HMD and Xplora. Those reports have now resulted in the platform being taken offline. During my research, I was able to: • Silently pair with any HMD Fuse device, anywhere in the world, assume the role of the parent/guardian, access the child's live GPS location, remotely manage installed apps, and disable all HarmBlock+ protections. • Emulate any HMD Fuse device, allowing arbitrary device data to be uploaded and presented to the parent/guardian application. • Remove all HarmBlock+ protections entirely by factory resetting the device using Google's Find My Device or a standard ADB command, despite the platform being marketed as "deeply embedded into the OS" and "cannot be bypassed or uninstalled." HMD has notified the UK Information Commissioner's Office (@ICOnews ). However, affected users have not been informed of the nature or impact of the incident. Instead, the app simply states the service is unavailable due to "maintenance and security upgrades." Based on my findings, these vulnerabilities were present from the product's launch and affected the platform's core security model. In my opinion, they created a significant risk to children's privacy and safety and render the product unfit for its intended purpose.

Text copied from image

Whilst I commend HMD for taking the platform offline, I believe parents deserve a clear explanation of what happened, what information may have been affected, and what steps they should take. A detailed analysis is coming soon. Clarification: The HMD Fuse embeds HarmBlock Al, developed by @SafeToNet. Despite the similar names, HarmBlock Al and HarmBlock+ are different products. The vulnerabilities l've disclosed relate to HMD's HarmBlock+ implementation and surrounding platform, not SafeToNet's HarmBlock Al technology. These findings do not indicate any weakness in HarmBlock Al itself. H+ HARMBlock+ PROTECTION (ACTIVE) BUILT TO PROTECT YOUR KIDS HMD Fuse with HARMBlock+ Protection SECURE. PROTECTED. TRUSTED. Advanced protection for your family. 11:28 AM • Jul 20, 2026 • 4,864 Views

HACKED SYSTEM BYPASSED. ALL DATA EXPOSED. HYD ALL PROTECTION MECHANISMS DISABLED AI CONTENT FILTERING WEB & APP CONTROLS CALL & CONTACT SAFETY SCREEN TIME & SCHEDULES PAIRING RESTRICTIONS LOCATION SAFETY GPS COORDINATES PHOTOS & VIDEOS MESSAGES & FILES APP USAGE & ACTIVITY DEVICE INFORMATION ANYONE. ANY DEVICE. ANYWHERE. ANYTIME. X DISABLED DISABLED DISABLED DISABLED DISABLED EXPOSED EXPOSED EXPOSED EXPOSED EXPOSED EXPOSED CAN PAIR NO LIMITS ANYONE CAN PAIR. ANY DEVICE. ANYWHERE. They can become the guardian, monitor your child, and track their every move in real-time.

HYD HMD FUSE Protected with HARMBlock+ H+ AI CONTENT FILTERING Blocks harmful content WEB & APP CONTROLS Safe browsing & app limits LOCATION SAFETY bua rotan location sharing PARENTAL CONTROL You stay in control 060000

Heather Burns@heatherburnstech· 22d

Hot Lectern Guy update: hotter every time

Heather Burns@heatherburnstech· 28d

By Ofcom’s own data, there is a social network for the older demographic. It’s called Facebook.

Heather Burns@heatherburnstech· 29d

Talk about dumping your rubbish on the way out the door.

Heather Burns@heatherburnstech· Jul 12

The funny thing about this crass little piece of racist legislation, coming in the Commons on Tuesday, is that it’s mandating data collection for a null; that is, alleged benefit takeup for people who have no recourse to public benefits.

• Data Publication and Quality (Immigration, Nationality and Country of Birth) Bill: Introduced by Conservative MP Katie Lam, this Bill would require the collection and annual publication of data on immigration status, nationality, and country of birth, in relation to users of certain public services, benefit claimants, the prison population, and arrests. It would also require the Secretary of State to review the quality and consistency of the data collected and published. (House of Commons Library migration statistics and asylum statistics)

Heather Burns@heatherburnstech· Jul 11

For anyone who has occasionally done so many media spots in a single day that you’d forget they had happened if you didn’t log them somewhere, there is something desperately sad about a missed Zoom call for a media spot indicating the end of a life.

Wednesday
08:05 - Ann Widdecombe makes an appearance on TalkTV
12:19 - A researcher from Channel 5 reportedly speaks to Widdecombe looking to set up a video statement - her last message was received at 12:19
12:30 - Police believe this is the time that Widdecombe was attacked
12:48 - The Channel 5 researcher messages again, according to ITV reports, asking Widdecombe to join a Zoom link before the interview but she does not reply

Heather Burns@heatherburnstech· Jul 9

I picked a weird week to read this. (summary: despite its victory and the ensuing US-style far right regime built on spite and content generation, the Farage premiership crashes and burns as hard as every other one we've had.)

"What if Reform Wins - A Scenario" by Peter Chappell

Heather Burns@heatherburnstech· Jul 9

Compare that to how she is presented at the MAK in Vienna.

n
ennie
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si-gen
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Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh
The Seven Princesses, frieze after a fairy tale by Maurice Maeterlinck for the music salon in the Waerndorfer House, Glasgow, 1906
FEES
Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh (1864-1933) is one of the main protagonists of Scottish Art Nouveau. As a member of the artist group "The Four," which also included her husband Charles Rennie Mackintosh, her sister Frances Macdonald McNair, and James Herbert McNair, she was instrumental in the development of the "Glasgow Style." It was for Fritz Waerndorfer's villa in Vienna's cottage district that she designed her masterpiece: the monumental frieze The Seven Princesses.
Josef Hoffmann was responsible for the architectural plan for the music salon, while Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed the furnishings.
Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh translated Les Sept Princesses, a play by Maurice Maeterlinck, into a three-part visual composition on nearly six-meter-wide plaster panels. The wings show the waiting princesses, the central panel the dead sister and mourning figures.
Oversized tears constitute the central motif of the frieze, which achieves a relief-like, almost immaterial effect thanks to its use of chalk ground applied with the pastiglia technique, iridescent mother-of-pearl, and transparent glass stones. Visitors must have felt transported into another realm by the overall appearance of the room. In 1905 the music salon was considered a "first-rate artistic curiosity." Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh's contribution proves that women creatives had a formative influence on international Modernism's reception in Vienna.
3-part; wooden frame, jute, chalk ground applied with the pastiglia technique, color glazes, mother-of-pearl, glass stones
MAL 348/1916

Heather Burns@heatherburnstech· Jul 8

Truth.

Andy Burnham's Insta, showing him shaking hands with Count Binface: "always worth knowing when bin day is"

Heather Burns@heatherburnstech· Jul 7

"binface summer". I, a mature adult, made this.

Heather Burns@heatherburnstech· Jul 6

No but … 🇲🇽

The Duke of wellington wearing a Mexican flag

Heather Burns@heatherburnstech· Jul 5

Currently reading the excellent dystopian novel "American War" by Omar El Akkad, about what will be left of the US 75 years from now, and the more I look at the map in the frontpiece the more I think: if anything, that's optimistic.

A speculative map of the US in 2075, showing the former US divided into three: the US, the Mexican Protectorate, and the Free Southern State. All the coasts have been ravaged by rising seas and much of the east coast has disappeared. The US capital is Columbus, Ohio.

Heather Burns@heatherburnstech· Jul 4

now before youse start complaining, that was a front page. This was only an inner page. Doesnae count.

FIND THE BASTARD WHO SHAT DOWN MY CHIMNEY

Heather Burns@heatherburnstech· Jul 4

Happy 19th anniversary to the greatest Scottish newspaper front page of all time.

From the aftermath of the Glasgow Airport terrorist bombing incident: "I kicked burning terrorist so hard in balls that I tore a tendon in my foot"

Heather Burns@heatherburnstech· Jul 1

That brown bit, right there, the future No 10. Does this make the mad ducks the northern Larry squad? I will stop laughing at this at some point today. Perhaps.

Heather Burns@heatherburnstech· Jun 29

Popup on the site of the analytics tool preferred by the Trump administration:

Heather Burns@heatherburnstech· Jun 29

3/2 from said documentation, given as an example of compliance best practice: tell me you hate your job without actually telling me you hate your job.

Suicide and self-harm – negligible or no risk
A large vertical search service specialised in travel searches, including for flights and
hotels. It has around 10 million monthly UK users. It uses recommender systems,
including for suggesting destinations.
It has a basic user reporting system.
There has never been any evidence or suggestion of illegal suicide or self-harm
content appearing in search results, and the provider can see no way in which this
could ever happen. Even though it is a large service, the provider concludes it has
negligible or no risk for suicide and self-harm.

Heather Burns@heatherburnstech· Jun 27

Side view - from which you’d never see her face. Clever, that.

Heather Burns@heatherburnstech· Jun 27

Spotted on a wander: this arrangement of metal poles and balls is the grave of Hedy Lamarr, who invented the frequency-hopping spread spectrum communication method which led to today’s Bluetooth, GPS, and WLAN. It’s a visual representation of that, and also of her face. She also did other things.