Interesting,
but unlikely to get much coverage in the US. Someone now knows a lot
about Turkish citizens. Enough to generate false backgrounds for
terrorists?
Hasan
Bozkurt reports:
The Presidency’s State Audit
Institution (DDK) has revealed that the state failed to protect
Turkish citizens’ ID information. The servers of the
administration’s website has been easily
breached, ID information
of citizens have been stolen. These include the General
Directorate of Population and Citizenship Affairs,
the General
Directorate of Land Registry and Cadaster,
Revenue
Administration, the
Social Security
Administration, the
Ministry of Health
and the Ministry of
Justice.
Underlining that more than 70
million of Turkish citizens’ ID copies stored in GSM operators, in
the report expressed that more than 50 million of citizens’
ID information stolen by third parties.
Read
more on BGN
News.
Embarrassing,
otherwise trivial. (TIP: Don't use the password: “CENTCOMtwits”)
U.S.
CENTCOM Twitter, YouTube Accounts Defaced By ISIS
A
couple of official social media accounts of the United States'
Central Command have been breached today, with the Islamic State
militant group ISIS claiming responsibility.
Both
the Twitter and YouTube accounts of the Central Command were accessed
to change both the banner and profile picture, as well as add a
couple of messages.
(Related)
“See? We're 'doing something!'” Would any non-government group
respond as quickly? In fact, even if they simply reiterate “Best
Practices” this is a good thing, and I shouldn't give them too much
grief.
…
The General Services Administration (GSA) announced it would hold a
web seminar this Thursday to teach federal agencies how to guard
against and respond to social media hacks.
The
seminar was announced hours after U.S. Central Command's (CENTCOM)
Twitter account was taken over by individuals claiming allegiance to
the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
…
An arm of the GSA – called DigitalGov — helps federal agencies
use social media and other digital services. On Monday afternoon, it
began Tweeting out instructions on how to prevent social media
attacks and set up two-step verification.
It
also sent instructions via email on Monday to hundreds of social
media managers in the federal government, offering similar guidance
in case of a social media attack.
…
After the Associated Press’s Twitter account was broken into last
year, the agency warned that the government would have to guard
against similar attacks.
It
said it is easy to guard against the attacks, which are usually the
result of “lazy device security.”
“In
fact, what’s often blamed on social media hacking is rooted in poor
account management: easy-to-guess passwords; passwords that aren’t
changed periodically or after staff changes; or lazy device security
such as unlocked computers or mobile devices,” the agency wrote in
a blog post last year, which it linked to on Monday.
My
students claimed “worries about security” were the number one
issue holding Cloud Computing back in their organizations.
Data
Security Concerns Still Challenge Cloud Adoption: Survey
The
CSA's Cloud
Adoption, Practices and Priorities Survey Report fielded
responses from 212 participants
…
According
to the survey, 73 percent said concerns about the security of data
are a top challenge holding back
cloud adoption. In addition, other top responses include
concerns about regulatory compliance (38 percent) and loss of control
over IT services (38 percent). Some 72 percent admitted they did not
know how many
shadow IT apps were within their organization but wanted to.
Knee-jerk
over-reaction or just waiting for the inevitable terrorist event that
“justifies” striping encryption?
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/uk-bans-whatsapp-snapchat-isis-hacks-military-command-tech-news-digest/
David
Cameron Hates Privacy
British
Prime Minister David
Cameron wants to ban apps that ensure user privacy by using
end-to-end encryption. He made the pledge to act against this trend
in light of the terrorist
attacks in Paris which left 17 people dead.
Cameron
asked and answered his own question, saying, “Are we going to
allow a means of communication which it simply isn’t possible to
read? My answer to that question is: ‘No, we must not.’”
Actually, most sensible people would answer, “Yes, we must.”
While
encrypted
services can be used by people plotting harm, they’re used
much, MUCH more widely by people who care about privacy and security.
Destroying the notion of end-to-end encryption is an absolute
non-starter, effectively banning
the likes of Whatsapp and Snapchat from operating in the UK.
Would
you rather have the NSA pass relevant data to the FBI or give the FBI
the resources they need to capture the data themselves. (Let's not
ask if they really need the data.)
DOJ
IG Report on FBI Access to NSA Surveillance Data
“U.S.
Federal Bureau of Investigation access to overseas surveillance
collected by sister organization the National Security Agency has
expanded in recent years, with the law enforcement agency gaining
access to collected but
unprocessed data in 2009, according to a report released
by the government. The FBI’s access to email and other data
collected from overseas targets in the NSA’s Prism program has been
growing since 2008, according to a 2012
U.S. Department of Justice inspector general’s report
declassified last Friday by the DOJ. The agency made the highly
redacted inspector general’s report public in response to a Freedom
of Information Act request by the New York Times. In
2008, the FBI began reviewing email accounts [Specific
accounts or browsing through all of them? Bob] targeted
by the NSA through the Prism program, according to the report and a
New York Times story. Then, in October 2009, the FBI requested
that information collected under the Prism program be “dual routed”
to both the NSA and the FBI so that the FBI “could retain this data
for analysis and
dissemination in intelligence reports,” [with
attribution? Bob] according to the IG’s report. And in
April 2012, the FBI began
nominating email addresses and phone numbers [I
read this as the FBI “tasking” the NSA. That is definitely wrong
in my humble opinion. Bob] that the NSA should target in
it surveillance program, according to the document. The IG’s
report, however, concluded that the FBI took a responsible approach
toward the surveillance program. The FBI’s Prism team “implemented
its targeting procedures with commendable deliberation, thoroughness
and professionalism,” the report said.”
It's
for the children!
Facebook
Is Placing ‘Amber Alerts’ for Missing Children in News Feed
…
Facebook said Tuesday it has partnered with the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children to include “Amber Alerts” in the
news feeds of users near a child reported missing.
The
alerts will appear in the second slot of the feed, along with a photo
and details about the case.
The
initiative highlights how social media has become a crucial source of
information for many people.
But
what if I don't “like” anything?
Facebook
Is Now Better At Judging Your Personality Than Your Friends Are
…
A
new study, published Monday in the journal PNAS, suggests that
computers are now better judges of character than your friends,
family, and even your partners.
The
project, conducted by researchers at the University of Cambridge and
Stanford, used an algorithm to calculate the average number of
"Likes" a computer needs to draw a remarkably accurate
identification of who you are.
Be
careful what you wish for...
Google
News Offline In Spain; Newspaper Publishers Are To Blame
Google
isn’t serving up headlines from Spain on Google News, and Spanish
users can’t access Google News at all. The reason: a Spanish law
that requires Google to pay for the use of headlines.
Google’s
response: shutting down the service entirely.
On
December 16th 2014, Spain passed a law saying Spanish
newspapers must be paid for content, even
if they are willing to give it away for free.
…
Publishers were not prepared for the consequences.
Enrique
Dans, an information technology and systems professor of the
Instituto de Empresa (IE) Business School in Spain,
published an article on Medium
arguing that the Google
tax is greedy, and irresponsible. Professor Dans predicts that
the law will be impossible to enforce, and if it is used to chase
small companies and individual journalists, would only hurt the field
of journalism.
…
Spanish speaking people have rallied behind hashtags like
#EnlaceLibre (#FreeLinks), and #Todoscontraelcanon
(#EverybodyAgainstTheFee).
…
many are even boycotting AEDE publications with the use of
browser extensions like AEDE
Blocker.
Predictably,
with Google News dropped from the wire of Spanish headlines, Spanish
publications aren’t seeing as much traffic as they used to. They
lost anywhere from ten to fifteen percent of their regular traffic
with the loss of Google News – and with it revenue.
…
France,
Belgium, Germany, and Portugal have all considered similar laws,
SearchEngineLand reports. For example: in 2012 Germany
implemented ‘ancillary copyright’ for publishers, but ended
up permitting ‘very small excerpts of text’ to be shown for free,
– giving Google some leeway in presenting snippets in news
searches.
All
four of these other nations have worded their law such that a
publisher can demand payment, but is not required to
– a key difference from Spain’s approach.
I
have some students who could use a job...
The
powerful woman behind Intel’s new $300 million diversity initiative
…
“A confluence of industry events has brought [the lack of women
and minorities in technology] to the center stage, from the threats
and harassment that have characterized the debate in the gaming world
to the publication of hiring data and diversity statistics in the
tech industry,” Intel CEO Brian Krzanich told the audience during
his keynote
address at CES.
…
While Krzanich announced the newly-formed “Diversity in
Technology” initiative, it’s Intel president Renée James who
will be the one handling the day-to-day oversight of the investment.
…
Intel’s plan, says James, is to use the money to help build a
pipeline of female and underrepresented engineers and computer
scientists. That includes funding programs that teach STEM (science,
technology, engineering and mathematics) to young people in
underserved areas, collaborating with higher education institutions,
investing in women and minority-owned companies and creating bolder
hiring and retention incentives and programs to encourage diversity
within Intel.
No
doubt we'll increase our 2 year degrees. Unless they define
“community college” more restrictively than I think they can.
The
Genius of Obama's Two-Year College Proposal
…
Community colleges, which educate nearly half of the nation’s 24
million college students, are already far more affordable than public
four-year institutions. The annual
tuition at public community colleges is $3,260, less than half
the $8,890 average in-state tuition at public four- year
institutions. Obama’s initiative would reduce community-college
tuition costs to zero for students across the economic spectrum—a
plan that would cost the federal government $60 billion over 10
years. (It is possible,
though not confirmed, that Obama will reserve Pell Grant money to
offset other costs, such as books, transportation, food, and
housing.)
…
Some liberals even joined in the criticism. Because the program is
not limited to low-income students, middle-income and even wealthy
community-college students could benefit. Donald Heller, dean of
Michigan State University's College of Education, told
Politico, "Should we really be giving those kids free
tuition when their families can pay?" And the Institute for
College Access and Success called
the proposal "a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing," arguing that
"making tuition free for all students regardless of their income
is a missed opportunity to focus resources on the students who need
aid the most."
Tools
for my Business Intelligence students? (Can we turn these outward?)
How
Are You Doing On Instagram? These Websites Will Tell You
…
Whether you’re new
to Instagram or a long-time user, these websites’ wide array of
features are sure to help you better understand your Instagram
community and let
you know how you did this past year.
No comments:
Post a Comment