Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Perhaps the database creation process should include a question like: “Would you like security with that?” Clearly the current process doesn’t work. Notice how few large breaches we have seen recently? I guess hackers don’t need them if organizations are leaving their data accessible without the need to hack.

https://www.hackread.com/cyber-security-firm-businesses-data-leaked-online/?web_view=true

Sensitive data of cyber security firm & other businesses leaked online

If we could get a penny for every time we reported an unsecured server getting found, perhaps it would amount to vacation dollars.

In another recent incident, security researchers named Noam Rotem and Ran Locar from vpnMentor have reported on an unsecured AWS S3 bucket containing over 5.5 million files and worth 343GB of data which was found on December 20, 2019, but they could disclose it now only due to responsible disclosure practices.



(Related) Or you could just send an email asking to have money deposited in their accounts.

https://www.inforisktoday.com/bec-scam-costs-trading-firm-virtu-financial-69-million-a-14804?&web_view=true

BEC Scam Costs Trading Firm Virtu Financial $6.9 Million

High-speed trading firm Virtu Financial says it lost $6.9 million in a business email compromise scam in May. The company is now suing its insurer for failure to cover the loss, according to legal documents filed in the case.

In its court filing, Virtu Financial reports that an executive's email account was illegally accessed and used to send fraudulent emails to the company's accounting department, resulting in two wire transfers to a bank in China.





A model for future cyber wars?

https://www.databreaches.net/pakistan-army-identifies-major-cyber-attack-by-india-targeting-mobile-phones-of-govt-military-officials/

Pakistan Army identifies major cyber attack by India targeting mobile phones of govt, military officials

The News reports:

Pakistani intelligence agencies have tracked a major security breach by Indian hackers whereby phones and other gadgets of government officials and military personnel were targeted, the military’s media wind said Wednesday.

According to a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the cyber-attack by Indian intelligence agencies involved “a range of cyber crimes including deceitful fabrication by hacking personal mobiles and technical gadgets”.

Various targets of hostile intelligence agencies are being investigated,” said the military’s media wing.

Read more on The News (PK)





Hoist on the pendulum of law…

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/08/nj-supreme-court-no-5th-amendment-right-not-to-unlock-your-phone/

NJ Supreme Court: No 5th Amendment right not to unlock your phone

New Jersey's Supreme Court has ruled that compelling a suspect to unlock his or her cell phone doesn't violate the Fifth Amendment. The courts continue to be deeply split on this question. Back in June, Indiana's Supreme Court reached the opposite conclusion, and several other state and federal courts have reached divergent positions on the issue over the last few years.

This case focuses on an allegedly corrupt cop named Robert Andrews. Andrews is a former Essex County Sheriff who allegedly tipped off a suspect named Quincy Lowery about a pending police investigation.

The police seized two iPhones belonging to Andrews, but investigators were unable to unlock them. Andrews refused to unlock the phones based on the Fifth Amendment, which protects against self-incrimination.

On Monday, the New Jersey Supreme Court rejected that Fifth Amendment claim. The Fifth Amendment only protects defendants against self-incriminating testimony, not the production of incriminating documents. While "testimony" usually refers to speech, that's not always the case. Sometimes, a defendant can reveal information by his or her actions. For example, if the government doesn't already know who owns a phone, then forcing a defendant to unlock it amounts to forced testimony that the defendant is the owner.

But that reasoning doesn't apply in this case. The phones were registered in Andrews' name and were in his possession. There's little doubt that Andrews knows the passcodes. So if he's forced to enter the passcodes to his own phones, the New Jersey Supreme Court reasoned, he's not revealing any information that the government doesn't already know.





Interesting argument.

https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/redefining-ai-leadership-in-the-c-suite/

Redefining AI Leadership in the C-Suite

We contend that while CFOs may not think of themselves as leaders of artificial intelligence for their companies, they can make a bigger leadership impact when it comes to AI strategy and adoption.

There are two key reasons. The first is that CFOs are heads of the finance function, and many finance processes and tasks can be performed by AI. One survey of U.S. organizations found that 24% of finance managers are currently using AI, and another 50% expect to use it within three to five years.

The second reason is that CFOs are usually the primary custodians of “value for money” appraisals and as such should provide oversight on AI investments. A 2018 Deloitte survey on trends in CIO reporting relationships found that 28% of CIOs report to the CFO. This is significant in terms of AI because a 2020 survey of global AI adopters from Deloitte found that IT is the single most likely area (with 47% listing it as a “top two” application domain, and cybersecurity in second place, with 22%) where companies will apply AI and automation to tasks and processes frequently repeated activities.





As always, I’m curious as to when AI will go from ‘useful’ to ‘mandatory.’

https://www.law.com/legaltechnews/2020/08/12/brave-new-world-how-ai-tools-are-used-in-the-legal-sector/

Brave New World: How AI Tools Are Used in the Legal Sector

In our previous article, we explored several legal implications that artificial intelligence will have on patent law, and the availability of patent protection for AI inventions. In this article, we explore the impact of AI in the legal industry, including new AI tools for legal departments, and how to plan for risk when using these AI tools.





Trying to understand antitrust in today’s political environment. They don’t define ‘hypercompetitive behavior.’

https://www.lightreading.com/5g/qualcomm-wins-appeal-in-long-running-ftc-antitrust-case/d/d-id/763128?_mc=RSS_LR_EDT

Qualcomm wins appeal in long-running FTC antitrust case

The decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reverses a lower court ruling from May 2019.

The FTC had begun investigating Qualcomm in 2014, while governments in Asia and Europe have been looking into the company since around 2009, according to court documents.

Hard bargain

In 2017, the FTC sued Qualcomm and, on May 21, 2019, US District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose made her ruling in the case public.

Koh found Qualcomm commanded "unreasonably high royalty rates" for its intellectual property, and ordered it to renegotiate licensing deals.

The judge said the wireless technology company's patent-licensing practices – both the fees it charges cellphone makers, and the controversial "no license, no chips" practice – were anti-competitive.

Qualcomm was accused of pressuring vendors to buy at least 85% of their chips from Qualcomm, thus eliminating competition.

The appeals court disagreed with this ruling. The panel of three judges wrote: "Anti-competitive behaviour is illegal under federal antitrust law. Hypercompetitive behaviour is not."





A tool for my math students.

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/google-lens-homework-help/

Google Lens Can Now Help With Math and Science Problems

Google is looking to help children and parents get ready for a whole new form of school when education resumes in the coming months. The company announced a slew of new educational tools and features on The Keyword.

While all the changes seem useful, the one that really stands out from the crowd is the update to Google Lens. It was already a useful tool, but Google is adding a new feature that will allow it to help with solving difficult math and science questions.

The new Google Lens feature uses Socratic to allow students or parents to take a photo of a difficult problem and get help.

It’s not just a tool that provides you with the answer, either (though it does give you the answer in the end). Instead, Google Lens and Socratic will provide step-by-step instructions to solve the problem. It’ll also show helpful explainers that will help the student actually learn to solve the math or science equation. After all, the point isn’t just to find out the answer, but to understand how to reach it yourself.





A tool for elaborating on a video link.

https://www.freetech4teachers.com/2020/08/two-ways-to-quickly-create-transcripts.html

Two Ways to Quickly Create Transcripts of YouTube Videos

I showed them how to quickly create transcripts for videos. There are two methods for this. Both methods are explained in the videos below.

Option 1

When you are viewing a video on YouTube you can open the automatically generated transcript (a feature many people overlook) and then copy the transcript into a Google Doc. Once the transcript is in the Google Doc you can edit the text and text formatting. Additionally, in the Google Doc you can insert links to the corresponding timestamps for the video. Watch this video for a demonstration of how this process works.

Option 2
The other option for making a timestamped transcript of a YouTube video is to use a third-party service. VidReader is the service that I've been using since last fall to create transcripts of YouTube videos. Here's my demo of VidReader.



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