Friday, December 01, 2017

So easy, even Politicians can do it? What does that say about Russian hacking?
Politico reports:
Staffers for Senate Republicans’ campaign arm seized information on more than 200,000 donors from the House GOP campaign committee over several months this year by breaking into its computer system, three sources with knowledge of the breach told POLITICO.
The unauthorized raid on the National Republican Congressional Committee’s data created a behind-the-scenes rift with the National Republican Senatorial Committee, according to the sources, who described NRCC officials as furious. It comes at a time when House Republicans are focused on preparing to defend their 24-seat majority in the 2018 midterm elections. And it has spotlighted Senate Republicans’ deep fundraising struggles this year, with the NRSC spending more than it raised for four months in a row.
Multiple NRSC staffers, who previously worked for the NRCC, used old database login information to gain access to House Republicans’ donor lists this year.
So the NRCC never terminated people’s login credentials when they left and/or never changed the database login either? Wow……
And will any of thee former staffers be criminally prosecuted under the CFAA?
Read more on Politico.




We may be gaining the attention of the Board!
NACD Public Company Governance Survey – top of list is cybersecurity
The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), the authority on boardroom practices representing more than 17,000 board members, today released its 2017–2018 NACD Public Company Governance Survey, an annual survey that looks through a board lens into the chief areas of concern for corporate directors. Industry disruption, business-model disruption, changing global conditions, and cybersecurity threats topped the list of concerns in this survey of 587 corporate directors representing 520 public companies. Asked which five trends they foresee having the greatest effect on their companies in 2018, fully 58 percent of respondents identified significant industry change as one of the trends, pointing to technology disruption, industry consolidation, and shifting regulations as key drivers of this change. The following trends also ranked among the top five:
  • Business model disruption – 46 percent
  • Changing global economic conditions – 46 percent
  • Cybersecurity threats – 38 percent
  • Competition for increasingly scarce talent – 36 percent…”




Now that is an interesting question!
Should Social Media be Considered Part of Critical Infrastructure?
Russia interfered in the U.S. 2016 election, but did not materially affect it. That is the public belief of the U.S. intelligence community. It is a serious accusation and has prompted calls for additions to the official 16 critical infrastructure categories. One idea is that 'national elections' should be included. A second, less obviously, is that social media should be categorized as a critical industry.
The reason for the latter is relatively simple: social media as a communications platform is being widely used by adversary organizations and nations to disseminate their own propaganda. This ranges from ISIS using it as a recruitment platform, to armies of Russian state-sponsored trolls manipulating public opinion via Twitter.
Russian interference, or opinion manipulation, has not been limited to the U.S. Both France and Germany worried about it prior to their own national elections.




A ‘backgrounder’ for my students.
CRS – The Net Neutrality Debate: Access to Broadband Networks
Via FAS – The Net Neutrality Debate: Access to Broadband Networks, Angele A. Gilroy, Specialist in Telecommunications Policy. November 22, 2017.
“As congressional policymakers continue to debate telecommunications reform, a major discussion point revolves around what approach should be taken to ensure unfettered access to the Internet. The move to place restrictions on the owners of the networks that compose and provide access to the Internet, to ensure equal access and non discriminatory treatment, is referred to as “net neutrality.” While there is no single accepted definition of “net neutrality,” most agree that any such definition should include the general principles that owners of the networks that compose and provide access to the Internet should not control how consumers lawfully use that network, and they should not be able to discriminate against content provider access to that network…”




Action or no action, it’s still a political statement.
Why Twitter didn't delete anti-Muslim tweets
… Asked why the original tweets have not been deleted, a Twitter spokesperson said:
"To help ensure people have an opportunity to see every side of an issue, there may be the rare occasion when we allow controversial content or behavior which may otherwise violate our rules to remain on our service because we believe there is a legitimate public interest in its availability."
"Each situation is evaluated on a case by case basis and ultimately decided upon by a cross-functional team," the spokesperson added.
… Twitter appears to have acknowledged, however, that the tweets constitute "sensitive media," which means they depict "some forms of graphic violence or adult content."
Users with their accounts set to avoid sensitive media are warned that the videos "may contain sensitive material" and need to click through before being able to view them.




For me students who need real information. Listen or read.
How Can We Curb Fake News?
The internet is a minefield of fake news, alternative facts, bogus videos and doctored images — all masquerading as the real thing. The prevalence of false information has become so great it is often difficult to know whether “news” is authentic. Historian, economist and writer Bruce Bartlett’s new book aims to help readers in the vetting process. The Truth Matters: A Citizen’s Guide To Separating Facts From Lies And Stopping Fake News In Its Tracks offers advice against bias, and insight into the complex media landscape. Bartlett, a former White House adviser under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, is also the author of many other books and articles. He recently joined the Knowledge@Wharton show on Wharton Business Radio on SiriusXM channel 111 to talk about his latest work.
An edited transcript of the conversation follows.




You are what you drive?
Google Street View photos provide detailed accurate neighborhood demographics
Washington Post – “A team of computer scientists has derived accurate, neighborhood-level estimates of the racial, economic and political characteristics of 200 U.S. cities using an unlikely data source — Google Street View images of people’s cars. Published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the report details how the scientists extracted 50 million photographs of street scenes captured by Google’s Street View cars in 2013 and 2014. They then trained a computer algorithm to identify the make, model and year of 22 million automobiles appearing in neighborhoods in those images, parked outside homes or driving down the street…”




It’s so easy you don’t think you’re programming!
If you have not heard about IFTTT, then this guide is for you.
If This Then That” is a free web-based service that gives you something better than the sum of its parts. The parts are the apps and devices you can connect together to create new experiences.
… The best thing about IFTTT? You don’t have to be a technological whizkid to use the automation. Most of the magic is already baked for you. Read on to discover all of its secrets.




A headline for my Spreadsheet students!
Finance Pros Say You’ll Have to Pry Excel Out of Their Cold, Dead Hands
… Last week, The Wall Street Journal published a short article with the headline "Stop Using Excel, Finance Chiefs Tell Staff.” This humble story stirred up a tempest that grew to include hundreds of online comments, emails and social-media posts. Arguments erupted on LinkedIn and Reddit that, some readers say, continued at the Thanksgiving table.




I guess some of my students will be building robots.
… Once constructed, your robot might be able to utter commands when a condition is met (perhaps a sensor detects motion). Or it might move around, learning about its surroundings, or reading information to you from Wikipedia.
Whatever you have in mind, it should be relatively straightforward to plan and execute. It may take some time, however. Here are five example projects that show how you can combine a Raspberry Pi 2 or later with your favorite fictional robot.


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