Episode #302: Edwin Kwan: Developers Ignore Critical Flaw in Apache Struts 2 Framework; Hillary Coover: The Quantum Computing Revolution and Global Security; Olimpiu Pop: 2023 in Review: AI Legislation; Marcel Brown: This Day in Tech History

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The stories we’re covering today.

Marcel Brown: December 27th, 1968. Apollo 8 splashes down in the Pacific Ocean, ending the first manned orbit of the moon. When the spacecraft hit the water, the parachutes dragged it over and left it upside down. Because they were being buffeted by 10 foot swells, astronaut Frank Borman actually got sick and vomited. Welcome back to Earth, Frank.

Edwin Kwan: A critical remote code execution vulnerability in the Apache Struts 2 framework is reportedly being ignored by developers, leaving approximately 80 percent of recent Strut downloads exposed to the flaw. The severity of the vulnerability, rated as 9. 8 out of 10 in CVSS, arises from a logic bug in the File Upload feature.

Hillary Coover: Quantum computers operate on subatomic particle properties, enabling them to perform complex calculations and process information at unparalleled speeds compared to today's computers. However, a current challenge is the instability of qubits, the key processing units in quantum computers, which limits their ability to decrypt substantial amounts of data.

Olimpiu Pop:  In 2023, the European Union made significant strides in AI legislation with the introduction of the EU AI Act. This groundbreaking legislation, agreed upon on December 9, 2023, is the world's first dedicated law on AI and sets a global precedent.