Thursday, March 07, 2019

Should be amusing. Will the government reveal specifics or rely on the “it could happen” argument?
Huawei Takes US to Court over Ban, Cyberespionage Accusations
… Huawei decided to take the US government to court not only because of the restriction of business in the US, but also the accusations that it poses a threat to national security and the call for other countries to ban its 5G technology, the telecom said on Thursday, according to The Guardian.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Texas, hinges on a legislative act that prohibits as unconstitutional the act of depriving a group of a trial and declaring the party guilty.
… “The US Congress has repeatedly failed to produce any evidence to support its restrictions on Huawei products. We are compelled to take this legal action as a proper and last resort.”




A clear area where AI could improve security? All it would need to do is identify employees who have no connection to patient treatment. (Not as easy as it sounds.)
Dana Kozlov reports:
Dozens of workers at Northwestern Hospital may have been fired for improperly reviewing the medical records of Jussie Smollett, who was treated at the emergency room after he claimed he had been attacked by two men.
Sources say those workers have been terminated after gaining access to the “Empire” actor’s medical chart. Smollett has since been charged with staging the whole incident.
Read more on CBS.




Part of this strategy seems to be a recognition that GDPR like laws will proliferate.
Mark Zuckerberg says his vision to divide Facebook's products in 2 could put its $56 billion business model at risk
… Facebook has been signalling a pivot to privacy for months, but on Wednesday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg slammed the reset button in a thoughtful blueprint for the future.
In essence, Zuckerberg sets out a plan to split the Facebook product in two. To use his analogies, he wants to create:
  • A town square, where people can talk to many people at once. Think the Facebook Newsfeed, groups, Instagram posts, and Stories.
  • And a living room— a closed-off space where people can interact privately, using messaging with end-to-end encryption. Think WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram DMs.
… But it will come at a cost. End-to-end encryption — along with other plans to give people more control over their data such as a clear history tool and disappearing posts — will make it harder for Facebook to gather the user information on which its business model relies. The company made $55.8 billion in revenue in 2018, the bulk of which came from advertising.


(Related) Another reason to change?
U.S. users are leaving Facebook by the millions, Edison Research says
All the bad press about Facebook might be catching up to the company. New numbers from Edison Research show an an estimated 15 million fewer users in the United States compared to 2017. The biggest drop is in the very desirable 12- to 34-year-old group. Marketplace Tech got a first look at Edison's latest social media research. It revealed almost 80 percent of people in the U.S. are posting, tweeting or snapping, but fewer are going to Facebook.


(Related)
Mark Zuckerberg Tried Hard To Get Facebook Into China. Now The Company May Be Backing Away
As we build our infrastructure around the world, we've chosen not to build data centers in countries that have a track record of violating human rights like privacy or freedom of expression,” Zuckerberg wrote on Wednesday.




AI impersonating a restaurant customer? What could possibly go wrong?
Google brings its Duplex AI restaurant booking assistant to 43 states
No moment wowed the audience at last year’s I/O more than Duplex. The demo of the artificial intelligence restaurant and appointment booking program left many in the audience wondering whether Google had just pulled a fast one over on them.
Turns out, it’s real.
Starting this week, Pixel 3 owners in 43 U.S. states will be able to use the Duplex technology to book appointments. The tech should work with any restaurants ... that accept reservations but do not have an online system to complete the booking.
In the coming weeks, the service will be rolled out to users on other Android and iOS devices, as the company continues to tweak the program based on user feedback.




The future? Hacking a fake license will become as easy as it was back when I was an 18, 21 and 24 year old in high school.
Google is working on securely storing Digital Driver's Licenses in Android
Carrying a wallet has become less of a necessity for me since I started using Google Pay to manage my credit cards, but there’s still no way I can travel anywhere without my driver’s license. I know a few people who use wallet cases to hold what few cards they must carry on their person, but I’m waiting for the day when I can legally drive to Walmart with just my phone on me. A digital driver’s license offers multiple advantages over the traditional ID card. You can’t lose it, you can update it remotely so you don’t have to stand in line at the DMV, you can wipe it remotely if your phone gets stolen, you’re less likely to get your identity stolen since you don’t need to carry a wallet with easily accessible information, you’re less likely to leave your phone at home, and you’ll have an easier time bringing it up on request. Authorities across the U.S. are slowly recognizing the benefits of a mobile driver’s license, which is why we’re hearing more U.S. states test their adoption each year.
… digital security company Gemalto is partnering with Colorado, Idaho, Maryland, Washington D.C., and Wyoming to run pilot programs before rolling out their digital driver’s license solution. At the same time, the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators is working to standardize this new form of electronic identification.




Should interest our programming students.
Microsoft open-sources its Windows calculator on GitHub
Microsoft is making the source code for its Windows calculator available on GitHub today. The software maker wants to “build an even better user experience in partnership with the community.” Opening up the calculator means anyone can contribute code to improve the app
… The source code is now available on GitHub and it includes the build system, unit tests, and even the product road map for the calculator feature in Windows.


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