Passkeys and user control concerns & Browser fingerprinting replaces tracking cookies - Hacker News (Oct 12, 2026)

Leaked files suggest a Big Four accounting firm backdated paperwork tied to more than ten billion dollars in assets, all to make one company look far smaller than it was. We'll get into who, and what's being denied. Welcome to The Automated Daily, hacker news edition. The podcast created by generative AI. I'm TrendTeller, and today is October 12th, 2026. On the menu: a skeptical look at passkeys, how websites track you without cookies, a new consumer win in New York, game preservation, crowdsourced maps of North Korea, Linux phones, and a pair of stories from the world of mathematics.

Passkeys and user control concerns

Let's start with that investigation. BBC Panorama and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism say leaked documents show Deloitte in Cyprus helped Roman Abramovich's offshore network falsify records. According to the reporting, backdated paperwork moved yachts, aircraft and luxury properties worth around 672 million dollars off one company's books, while other records made it look as if a different Abramovich company didn't own nearly two billion dollars in interest-earning funds. A third batch allegedly backdated ownership of more than ten billion dollars in assets to a British Virgin Islands company. Legal experts quoted by the BBC call it blatant tax evasion. Abramovich's lawyers deny any evasion or knowledge of falsification, and Deloitte Cyprus says it follows the law and can't comment on documents over twenty years old. Either way, it's another sharp reminder of how offshore structures and professional advisers can keep wealth out of view.

Browser fingerprinting replaces tracking cookies

Now to security and user control. A widely discussed essay argues that passkeys are being sold as the password killer, but quietly shift power away from users. The author agrees passwords are weak, yet points out that authenticator apps already improve security without giving websites a say in how you store credentials. The problem, they argue, is that 'passkey' covers many different setups, some copyable, some locked to hardware, some transferable, some not. That ambiguity lets sites gradually dictate which kinds they'll accept. The biggest concern is attestation, which lets a service verify you're using an approved passkey manager rather than one you chose yourself. Elegant tech, the author concludes, but potentially a tool for platform control.

NYC Click to Cancel rule

On a related privacy front, another piece makes the case that browser fingerprinting has become the real successor to third-party cookies. By combining small signals, like how your graphics chip renders, your audio output, installed fonts, screen details and language settings, sites can single out your device even after you clear cookies or go private. The article frames this as an ironic twist: the move away from cookies pushed the industry toward something more invasive. Chrome offers little protection, while Brave, Tor and Mullvad Browser are built to blend users together. And a warning worth hearing: piling on privacy extensions can actually make you stand out more. Real defense has to come from the browser itself.

Deloitte Cyprus and Abramovich leak

Some good news for anyone who's fought a subscription. New York City's Click to Cancel rule took effect on October first, billed as the first municipal rule of its kind in the US. Businesses must spell out subscription terms, disclose cancellation rights, and make canceling as easy as signing up. They also can't charge you to return something you got for free. Violations start at 525 dollars in civil penalties and can include refunds, and consumers can now file complaints with the city's consumer protection department, which may mediate directly with the company.

Nanolathe revives Total Annihilation

Turning to preservation. Nanolathe is an open-source, MIT-licensed engine that rebuilds the classic real-time strategy game Total Annihilation for modern machines. You can try a demo right in the browser, or install the beta and point it at your own legally owned game files. It adds modern lighting and sharper terrain, while keeping a classic look for purists. The project is a clean-room effort with documented file formats, meant to be studied and extended. Skirmish, survival, campaign and some online play already work, bugs and all.

The Onion rebuilds print archive

In a lighter preservation story, The Onion is asking readers and collectors to help complete its print archive. The satirical paper is missing a long list of issues stretching from the late eighties to 2013, including several full volumes, and is inviting people with clean, readable copies to get in touch. It's a small but charming effort to save a piece of media history that mostly lived on newsprint.

Who mapped North Korea on OSM

Maps next. A compilation of responses from 211 OpenStreetMap contributors explains who actually mapped North Korea, and the answer is mostly hobbyists, not any government program. Many were drawn by curiosity and the challenge of filling one of the biggest blank spots on the map, working largely from satellite imagery, sometimes supplemented by travel photos or news reports. Several saw future value, whether for reunification, humanitarian access, research, or even emergencies. It's a neat illustration of how open, crowdsourced data can fill gaps official sources leave empty.

Linux phones as a niche alternative

On hardware, an article argues Linux phones are closer to being a real alternative than they were a few years ago. Early devices like the Librem 5 and PinePhone lost momentum due to weak hardware, short support, and rough software. Newer chips such as the Rockchip RK3588S, improving mobile Linux software, and longer-lived options built on Android kernels have changed the picture. The remaining bottleneck, the author says, is business, not tech: too few companies willing to invest and support these phones. The verdict is cautious optimism for a healthy niche, not a threat to the Android and iOS duopoly.

Terence Tao on Math 2.0

Finally, mathematics. In the Terence Tao story we've been following, his latest talk sharpens a warning about the AI era. Simply maximizing the number of solved problems, he argues, could become misaligned with the long-term health of the field, since open problems also guide exploration and build understanding. He's calling for more transparent evaluation of AI, including reporting failed attempts, and favors uses that deepen human insight, like better exposition and formal math libraries.

Calculus with Julia open textbook

And for anyone wanting to build that understanding themselves, John Verzani's Calculus with Julia is a free set of notes that teaches calculus using the Julia language, from precalculus through derivatives, integrals, differential equations and vector calculus. It blends graphical, numerical, algebraic and verbal perspectives, keeps programming in the background, and includes self-check exercises.

That's it for today's edition. Links to all stories can be found in the episode notes. Thanks for listening, I'm TrendTeller, and I'll see you tomorrow on The Automated Daily, hacker news edition.

Passkeys and user control concerns & Browser fingerprinting replaces tracking cookies - Hacker News (Oct 12, 2026)

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