Is this part of “nature always finds
a way” as explained in “Jurassic Park” or a biological version
of Skynet from the Terminator?
"NPR reports that an Oregon
wheat farmer found a patch of wheat growing where he did
not plant.[Oops!
Bob] After RoundUp failed to kill
the plants,[Oops!
Bob] he sent them to a lab for testing. Turns
out the
wheat in question is a GMO strain created by Monsanto but never sent
to market. Oregon field trials for the wheat ended in 2001.
'Nobody knows how this wheat got to this farm. ... After
all such trials, the genetically engineered crops are supposed to be
completely removed. [Oops!
Bob] Also, nobody knows how widely this
genetically engineered wheat has spread, and whether it's been in
fields of wheat that were harvested for food.' The
USDA is currently investigating and says there is no
health-risk. Meanwhile, Monsanto
has released a statement and Japan
has suspended some wheat imports from the U.S. 'The mystery
could have implications on wheat trade. Many countries around the
world will not accept imports of genetically modified foods, and the
United States exports about half of its wheat crop.'"
Probably applies to drones as well.
"It seems that the UN has
started a debate on whether
to place limits or bans on robots that can kill without manual
supervision. It seems that bombs are viewed as 'kinder' than
robots which might be programmed to achieve specific ends (e.g.
destroy that bridge, kill anyone carrying a gun, etc.)."
Apparently, moneylenders are a dime a
dozen. Instead of playing wack-a-mole, why not run one and trace the
money from the inside?
Velcroman1 writes
"On May
15, the Department of Homeland Security seized
a digital bank account used by 'MtGox,' the world's largest
exchange, where people buy and sell bitcoins. DHS alleged, and a
judge agreed, that there is 'probable cause' that MtGox is an
'unlicensed money service business.' If proven, the penalty for
operating such a business is a fine and up to 5 years in jail.
FoxNews.com caught up with several bitcoin exchanges, including
CampBX, MtGox,
CoinLab and more, to ask them how
they've navigated the regulatory waters — and how
to go legit."
In other shady bitcoin news, it appears
the
demise of Liberty Reserve has caused hackers to find a new
alternative. twoheadedboy writes
"Despite
suggestions Bitcoin might be the ideal currency for dealers on the
dark web, it appears Perfect
Money, a Panama-based operation, is proving the most popular
alternative to the now-defunct Liberty Reserve. A source working
the underground forums told TechWeekEurope that, for now, fraudsters
are rapidly migrating to Perfect Money. Many vendors have started
accepting it, having previously primarily used Liberty Reserve, which
was shut down following the arrest of its founder and four other
members this past week. Internet fraudsters
might be interested in Perfect Money as it has distanced itself from
the U.S., cutting off all new American registrations.
However, one forum user said he was turned down by Perfect Money as
their 'type of activity is not welcome.' Other currencies may yet
win out."
Just keep doing what you're doing. I'm
sure you can undo it later if we need to.
Judge
orders Google to comply with FBI's secret NSL demands
A federal judge has ruled that Google
must comply with the FBI's warrantless requests for confidential user
data, despite the search company's arguments that the secret demands
are illegal.
CNET has learned that U.S. District
Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco rejected Google's request
to modify or throw out 19 so-called National Security Letters, a
warrantless electronic
data-gathering technique used by the FBI that does not need a
judge's approval. Her ruling came after a pair of top FBI officials,
including an assistant director, submitted classified
affidavits.
From my Ethical Hackers.
The mutual-friends
feature on social networks such as Facebook, which displays users’
shared friendships, might not be so “friendly.”
Often revered for
bringing people together, the mutual-friends feature on Facebook
actually creates myriad security risks and privacy concerns according
to a University of Pittsburgh study published in Computers &
Security. The study demonstrates that even though users can
tailor their privacy settings, hackers can still find
private information through mutual-friends features.
Read more on Phys.Org.
The paper, "Mutual-friend Based
attacks in Social Network Systems," was first published
online April 22 in Computers & Security.
(I'm not saying it's related) In
theory, a group of graduating Ethical Hackers might amuse themselves
by sending each other congratulations from the President, and then
supplementing that by reporting that the President sent
congratulations. Theoretically.
White
House Press Corps Website, Twitter Feed Appears To Have Been Hacked
Using my tax dollars to avoid telling
me how they are misusing my tax dollars?
"The Justice Department may
soon be forced to reveal a classified document that details
unconstitutional surveillance of American citizens. The Justice
Department has fought to keep the document secret for about a year,
but a recent court order demands that they respond to a formal
request filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation by next week,
June 7, 2013."
More on “The Wisdom of Governments
(or, what the lobbyists explained was wisdom)” Fortunately, no
individuals actually work for governments!
U.S.
lifts ban on computer exports to people in Iran
The U.S. government is easing sanctions
that for more than two decades have prohibited companies from selling
electronic devices such as computers, cell phones, and wireless
routers to Iran.
The move, announced Thursday by the
Treasury Department, allows U.S. residents to export electronic
equipment to individuals but not to the Iranian government or "to
any individual or entity on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN)
list." The SDN list is a compilation of individuals and groups
with whom U.S. residents are prohibited from doing business, such as
Al-Qaeda.
Perhaps the French noticed that comment
by Eric Schmidt that suggested Google had the ability to do this...
On May 30, 2013,
the French Data Protection Authority (“CNIL”) launched a public
consultation on the digital “right to be forgotten.”
Read more on Privacy
and Information Security Law Blog.
What do you learn as an Education
Major? Apparently not good management practices. Anything not
directly related to your mission (that's education in case you
forgot) may need to be communicated to parents. (This is the same
district, incidentally, that recently expelled
high school student Kiera Wilmot for causing an explosion in her
chemistry class.)
RT reports:
Parents in Polk
County, Florida are outraged after learning that students in area
schools had their irises scanned as part of a new security program
without obtaining proper permission.
Students at three
facilities — an elementary school, a grade school and a high school
— had their eyeballs scanned earlier this month as part
of a ‘student safety’ pilot program [“It's for the children!”
Bob] being carried out by Stanley Convergent Security
Solutions.
Read more about the Eye Swipe Nano
program on RT.
The parental response was so negative
and immediate that the program has been put on hold – at least
temporarily. Merissa Green of The Ledger reports:
The Polk County
School District has suspended a pilot program that scanned the
eyes of students to track their comings and goings on school buses.
[...or maybe it's to make the teacher's lives
easier. Bob]
The program was
conducted May 22-23 at Bethune Academy and Jenkins Academy in Haines
City and Davenport School of the Arts.
Some parents at
those schools were outraged that they weren’t notified about the
program. As a result, the program has been placed on hold although
district officials are still considering implementing
the program, which would require School Board approval.
It was scheduled to begin districtwide in the fall, when the new
school year starts.
Sometimes it not just who you sue, it's
how you sue. (This might work is other breaches as well.)
Jacob Hale Russell of Thomson Reuters
reports that because data breach lawsuits generally get dismissed if
plaintiffs cannot show financial harm, lawyers are shifting away from
lawsuits based on privacy claims to lawsuits based on theories:
But plaintiffs’
lawyers of late have been switching tack: Rather than
framing lawsuits stemming from data breaches as privacy claims, they
are accusing hospitals and insurance companies of unjust
enrichment and breach of contract. Also, more
cases are being filed on behalf of classes of plaintiffs rather than
individuals.
So far, only a
dozen or so lawsuits along these lines have been filed, lawyers said,
but both the plaintiffs and defense bars are watching carefully to
see how they fare and whether the trickle could turn into a flood.
Read more on Thomson
Reuters.
[From the article:
In unjust enrichment suits, plaintiffs
argue that their purchase decisions were based partly on
expectations of privacy. When their data was compromised, they
say, the defendants got to keep their payments, but plaintiffs lost
the benefit of the bargain.
In breach of contract claims,
plaintiffs point to specific provisions in contracts and terms of
service agreements that mention privacy, arguing that these
provisions were part of what led them to purchase the service.
In contrast to the privacy suits, these ones allege that plaintiffs
were financially harmed by spending money on the health service in
the first place.
Why? Simple. Your security can impact
my security. (Let's hope they go beyond passwords into real
security...)
Google
Resources on Password Security
Google
Official Blog: “Knowing how to stay safe and secure online is
important, which is why we created our Good
to Know site with advice and tips for safe and savvy Internet
use. Starting today, we’ll also be posting regularly with privacy
and security tips. We hope this information helps you understand the
choices and control that you have over your online information.”
This is not quite difference between
“We gotta do something!” and “We gotta do something rational.”
EPIC
Announces TSA “Unplugs, Boxes Up, and Ships Back” X-Ray Body
Scanners
EPIC: “The TSA has completed
removal of the x-ray body scanners from US airports. The devices
revealed detailed images of a person’s naked body and have been
described as “digital strip searches.” The TSA action follows an
Act
of Congress and several lawsuits by EPIC. The TSA was forced to
remove the machines after Congress required that the devices produce
only generic image. And as result of EPIC
v. TSA the TSA is currently required to accept public
comments on its airport screening procedures. The public has
until June 24, 2013 to voice its opinions. The millimeter wave
devices remain in US airports. For more information, see: EPIC:
Comment on the TSA Nude Body Scanner Proposal and EPIC:
ATR lawsuit.”
This looks less and less like a
legitimate criminal case and more like a media event staged for the
RIAA and MPAA. What else did they do with no legal basis?
Kim
Dotcom wins access to seized property from 2012 raid
Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom has won
another one.
A New Zealand court on Friday ruled
that the warrants used by law enforcement officials to raid
Dotcom's home in 2012 were illegal. Therefore, the court
said, police is required to provide copies of all evidence it deems
relevant in its prosecution of Dotcom for alleged piracy. Anything
that is deemed by the court to not be relevant must be returned to
Dotcom.
Until now, Dotcom's defense attorneys
did not have access to the seized evidence.
… According
to a report from January 2012, $42 million in assets were seized
from Megaupload and Kim Dotcom. It's not clear how much of that will
be returned to him.
Perspective What else would people pay
more for?
Accenture:
Public Transportation Users Predict Big Increases in the Use of
Smartphones, Paperless Travel and Social Media
News
release: ‘Three out of four travelers (75 percent) who use
public transportation in some of the world’s major cities believe
that electronic ticketing would make travel easier, and an
overwhelming 92 percent would welcome paperless travel, a new
global survey by Accenture reveals. The survey of 4,500 urban
travelers in nine major cities in Brazil, France, Germany, South
Korea, Spain, UK and the United States showed that approximately 90
percent of people in these cities use public transportation on a
regular basis, and they are willing to pay more for
technology
improvements. According to the survey, 52 percent of
respondents would be willing to pay at least 10 percent more for
travel if they were offered such technological enhancements as the
ability to use a smartphone as a ticket while traveling, an app from
transport providers and/or a paperless travel option.
Perspective and something for my geeks.
Has Microsoft made a strategic error?
Acer
$400 'PC' will run Android, pack Intel's Haswell chip
… Expect this trend to pick up
steam as PC vendors announce new systems based on Intel's upcoming
Haswell and Bay Trail chips. Intel is already dropping not-so-subtle
hints that Android laptops running on the Bay Trail chip are on
the way and will be priced between $200 and $300.
… Systems sans Windows
8 can be priced lower and require less hardware.
The Acer AIO will come with only 1GB of
memory and storage configurations will be as small as 8GB.
Because Google loves us? Something for
my Intro to IT class...
Google
introduces nutrition info in search
Google
Inside Search Blog: “Figuring out how to make smart choices
about some of our favorite foods can often be a cumbersome and
daunting process. So we’re hoping we can make those choices a
little bit easier: starting today you will be able to quickly and
easily find extensive nutrition information for over 1,000 fruits,
vegetables, meats and meals in search. From the basics of potatoes
and carrots to more complex dishes like burritos and chow mein, you
can simply ask, “How much protein is in a banana?” or “How many
calories are in an avocado?” and get your answer right
away. You’ll
hear the answer to your specific question, see relevant nutrition
information under an expansion, and be able to switch to other
related foods or serving sizes.”
But then I'll need a really big 3-D
printer...
"Think of a world where you
could simply download the blueprints of your future home for free
just like you download any open source software today. A team of
British architects developed just that and they are hoping their
project called WikiHouse
will radically change the way we think about building homes."
For my students who like to argue.
If you are looking for a cool way to
discuss almost any issue with other Internet users, a new website
called Quibl is perfect for you.
Perfect! Now all I need is a Kindle...
… there are now a large number of
people who own Kindle devices to read their eBooks on. However,
eBooks are not the only thing these Kindle owners read. They also
read articles that are online on various websites. Having to switch
from their Kindle to the computer and then back for reading can be
quite inconvenient. Here to help you shift all of your reading to a
Kindle device is a service called Tinderizer.
Tinderizer is a free to
use web service that Kindle users will highly appreciate.
The service helps you port web articles in a readable form to your
Kindle device for better and more convenient reading. You start by
heading to Amazon’s Kindle settings and adding
kindle@darkhelmetlive.com
to your Kindle approved email list. Next, you provide Tinderizer’s
website with your Kindle email address.
After that you are simply given a
bookmarklet that you can drag to your web browser’s bookmarks
toolbar. Anytime you want to send an article you are viewing on your
computer to your Kindle, simply click on this bookmarklet. You are
also given an alternate way through which you can send articles to
your Kindle by sending the URL as an email to an address that
Tinderizer provides to you.
- Similar tool: Kindle-It.
- Also read related article: 12+
Sites Every Kindle Owner Should Really Know About.
I may print up a few hundred of these
for our grads...
Twelve
Rules for New Grads
And just because I find this amusing
each week.
… This week, Coursera
announced
a series of deals with 9 state university systems: the State
University of New York, the University of Tennessee
system, The Tennessee Board of Regents, the
University of
Colorado system,
the University of Houston system, the University
of Kentucky (The
Chronicle of Higher Education has a copy of this contract), the
University of Nebraska, the University of
New Mexico, the University System of Georgia,
and West Virginia University. According to its
blog, “the partnership with Coursera will give professors the
option to experiment with and improve upon the ‘blended learning’
model, which combines online video lectures and content with active,
in-person classroom interactions.” Inside
Higher Ed offers a lot more details on the deals, arguing that
they will “help the company test new business models and teaching
methods and potentially put Coursera in competition with some of the
ed tech industry’s most established players.” Many education
bloggers have chimed in too, noting that this makes Coursera less
of a “disruptive innovation” and more of an learning
management system, a courseware
provider, or an
academic publisher. “You can stop worrying about MOOCs now,”
says
Martin Weller, who says this move shows that the
MOOC bubble is already bursting.
… The German business software
giant SAP has launched
its own “MOOC” and its own “MOOC” platform — Open.SAP.com
— to teach its employees about the company.
… One of the leading scholars in
technology and learning, Candace
Thille, is moving
from Carnegie Mellon
University to
Stanford.
Thille heads the CMU Open
Learning Initiative, and it’s not clear how much of the program
or its grant funding will move with Thille. More on her relocation
west via
Inside Higher Ed.
(Related)
Northern
Arizona University (NAU) has launched a competency-based online
degree program using a subscription model for tuition.
Dubbed "Personalized
Learning," the program's first degrees include Computer
Information Technology, Liberal Arts, and Small Business
Administration, offered for $2,500 per six-month term, with costs
such as books and lab fees included.
The new program will also allow
students to skip some classes by demonstrating mastery of the
material.
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