Tuesday, February 05, 2019

We probably should not use this to advertise our Ethical Hacking class.
Catalin Cimpanu reports:
Two hacker groups are behind 60% of all publicly reported cryptocurrency exchange hacks and are believed to have stolen around $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency, according to a report published last week by blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis.
“On average, the hacks we traced from the two prominent hacking groups stole $90 million per hack,” said Chainalysis.
Read more on ZDNet.




I’m surprised that a voluntary effort is doing so well. Perhaps it is fear of a GDPR like law? Perhaps it’s ‘self-reporting?’
Online platforms still not clear enough about hate speech takedowns: EC
In its latest monitoring report of a voluntary Code of Conduct on illegal hate speech, which platforms including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube signed up to in Europe back in 2016, the European Commission has said progress is being made on speeding up takedowns but tech firms are still lagging when it comes to providing feedback and transparency around their decisions.
Tech companies are now assessing 89% of flagged content within 24 hours, with 72% of content deemed to be illegal hate speech being removed, according to the Commission — compared to just 40% and 28% respectively when the Code was first launched more than two years ago.


(Related) Elsewhere, things are different.
India plans to regulate popular Chinese apps TikTok, Helo, LIKE, others
Financial Times reported that the Indian government has come with up a draft regulation for popular social apps like TikTok, Helo, LIKE, Vigo Video, and others to moderate content on these platforms. These apps run on user-generated content (UGC) created by millions of people, but Indian regulators want the platform-owners to be more responsible for the stuff that flows through their networks.
The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) is said to have proposed new rules for apps that have more than five million users. It requires them to establish a local office and appoint a senior official in the country who would be held responsible for any legal hassles that could arise from the nature of the content on the apps.
The draft law also calls for apps to deploy “automated tools for proactively identifying and removing or disabling public access to unlawful information or content.”




Are they treating the symptom or the cause?
Adam Popescu reports:
On paper, it looks as if San Francisco shouldn’t have a homelessness problem. There are as many permanent housing beds as people who need them. The city spends hundreds of millions of dollars to help get people off the streets, and last year voters approved a measure to raise $300 million annually to tackle the issue by taxing local companies. Yet there are about 7,500 homeless in the city because of soaring rents and the difficulty of treating substance abuse, mental illness, and other health concerns.
Now the world capital of innovation and Big Data is betting that streamlined information is the answer. City officials have spent the past two years building a digital program called ONE System that can track and monitor every homeless person in San Francisco. The idea is simple: Collect and sort information associated with the homeless to more effectively assess risk factors, determine those most in need, and get those people into available shelters and transitional housing. But the reality is more complicated. Five months after its introduction, ONE System has helped get only 70 people off the streets as it contends with the same challenges that have plagued past efforts—as well as new ones, including persuading the city’s most at-risk population to sign on to a program with echoes of Big Brother.
Read more on Bloomberg.




“Hey! What’s the big deal? Lawyers is rich!”
Attacking a Pay Wall That Hides Public Court Filings
The New York Times: “The federal judiciary has built an imposing pay wall around its court filings, charging a preposterous 10 cents a page for electronic access to what are meant to be public records. A pending lawsuit could help tear that wall down. The costs of storing and transmitting data have plunged, approaching zero. By one estimate, the actual cost of retrieving court documents, including secure storage, is about one half of one ten-thousandth of a penny per page. But the federal judiciary charges a dime a page to use its service, called Pacer (for Public Access to Court Electronic Records). The National Veterans Legal Services Program and two other nonprofit groups filed a class action in 2016 seeking to recover what they said were systemic overcharges. “Excessive Pacer fees inhibit public understanding of the courts and thwart equal access to justice, erecting a financial barrier that many ordinary citizens are unable to clear,” they wrote. The suit accuses the judicial system of using the fees it charges as a kind of slush fund, spending the money to buy flat-screen televisions for jurors, to finance a study of the Mississippi court system and to send notices in bankruptcy proceedings…”




Perspective. I suspect that every class lecture is at least one podcast.
No, Podcasting Is Not a Small Business
Believe it or not, there’s money in podcasts.
Spotify is in advanced talks to acquire Gimlet Media, the Brooklyn-based narrative podcast company, for more than $200 million in cash, according to Recode.
… Two years ago, the startup was reportedly valued at roughly $70 million.
Podcasting may be a relatively small industry in the U.S, but if I had to guess, Spotify has bigger ambitions than that. Just take a look at the stats: The U.S. podcasting industry brought in $314 million in ad revenue in 2017. Yet the global picture is much different.
The podcast industry in China is 23x larger, estimated to be worth an eye-popping $7.3+ billion. Why? Perhaps because the model is different. Many of the podcasts in China are paid via subscription, while podcasts in America are mostly free or ad-supported.




There are some strange, possible scenarios here. If everyone in Colorado votes for candidate A, candidate B could get our electoral votes because large population states voted the other way.
Colorado Senate passes bill favoring popular vote over Electoral College
The Denver Channel: “A bill championed by Sen. Mike Foote, D-Lafayette, is the most accessed bill on the Colorado legislature’s website and could eventually change how the United States chooses its president. “The bottom line is that every Coloradan should have their voice heard,” said Foote.” Senate Bill 19-042 …makes] Colorado the 13th state to join what’s known as the National Popular Vote interstate compact. States in the compact agree to award all their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, no matter which presidential candidate wins in their state. But there’s a trick. It only goes into effect when enough states representing 270 electoral votes sign on, which is the number of votes a candidate needs to win the presidency. So far, 12 states with a total of 172 electoral votes have already joined the compact. Colorado would bring nine more, so 89 more electoral votes would be needed if the Colorado proposal passes and is signed by Gov. Jared Polis…”




Might this work in other fields?
How to Succeed in Legal Writing by Really Trying
Lebovits, Gerald, How to Succeed in Legal Writing by Really Trying (September 1, 2018). Gerald Lebovits, The Legal Writer, How to Succeed in Legal Writing by Really Trying, 90 N.Y. St. B.J. 61 (Sept. 2018). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3277191 – “This column addresses how to make someone competent at legal writing if they currently are not and how to teach someone to be excellent if they already are competent.”


No comments: