Wednesday, June 01, 2016

It’s a start.  More than can be said about the Bangladesh bank heist. 
Two Japanese Arrested After ATM Heist: Police, Media
Two Japanese men were arrested Tuesday for allegedly stealing money from an ATM, with local media reporting they were part of a coordinated nationwide heist that netted millions of dollars earlier this month.
The theft on May 15 reportedly involved about 100 members of an international gang each making a series of withdrawals from 1,400 ATMs around the country in less than three hours, Japanese media reported.
The haul totalled 1.4 billion yen ($13 million), according to the reports, with cash-dispensing machines in Tokyo and Osaka among those targeted.
   That was allegedly carried out by thieves armed with fake credit card details from South Africa's Standard Bank.
It was not clear how the gang made off with the equivalent of millions of dollars so quickly as the cash machines usually limit withdrawals to 100,000 yen a day.
Standard Bank acknowledged the heist and put its losses at around $19 million.
The lightning-fast raids began early on the morning of May 15, a Sunday, when banks were closed, according to Japanese media.
Similar robberies have occurred in recent years, including a pair of heists totalling about $45 million that saw a group of cyber thieves disable withdrawal limits on ATMs around the world.


I would have expected more from a country reputed to have some of the best (or at least the most aggressive) hackers in the world.
The headline in the Daily Mail basically says it all:
Well almost all.  Note that this is not Facebook’s site but a Facebook clone called phpDolphin.  Even so…


Just out of curiosity, what does Facebook consider offensive?  Are we going to be treated to another “Facebook hates conservatives” if someone claims they block images of Donald Trump?  (Should we start the rumor that they do?) 
Facebook spares humans by fighting offensive photos with AI
Facebook’s artificial intelligence systems now report more offensive photos than humans do, marking a major milestone in the social network’s battle against abuse, the company tells me.  AI could quarantine obscene content before it ever hurts the psyches of real people.
Facebook’s success in ads has fueled investments into the science of AI and machine vision that could give it an advantage in stopping offensive content.  Creating a civil place to share without the fear of bullying is critical to getting users to post their personal content that draws in friends’ attention.

(Related) …but completely different?  What if everyone (“the majority”) hates Donald Trump? 
Periscope has a new plan to fight back against internet trolls
Periscope, Twitter's standalone livestreaming app, has created a new way to combat internet trolls, which includes a system to put internet bad guys on trial in front of their internet peers.
Here's how the new abuse system works: If you're watching a Periscope livestream and come across a vile or inappropriate comment, you can report that comment, triggering what Periscope calls a "flash jury" of other users watching the same livestream.
Periscope will ask this flash jury, a small group of other randomly selected users, if they also consider the comment abusive or offensive.  If the majority agrees with you, the commenter will be placed in a one minute time-out with commenting disabled.  Repeat offenders will be muted for good.
In other words, Periscope wants its user base to police itself, all the way down to the verdict.


Local. 
New on LLRX – Should Colorado court documents be free on public library computers?
by Sabrina I. Pacifici on
Via LLRX.comShould Colorado court documents be free on public library computers?Jeff Roberts of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition raises the question of expanding free public access to court documents in Colorado.  Specifically, he identifies the only location where a non-lawyer can view and request copies of all civil court documents from ICCES, the Integrated Colorado Courts E-Filing System.  This location is the Colorado Supreme Court’s law library in the Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center in downtown Denver.  Fees and access to PACER have been the topic of discussion in the legal community for many years.  The urgency of this discussion and a resolution that ensures free public access to court filings is critically dependent upon the future of court law libraries.


Again the pendulum swings. 
U.S. court says no warrant needed for cellphone location data
Police do not need a warrant to obtain a person's cellphone location data held by wireless carriers, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Tuesday, dealing a setback to privacy advocates.
The full 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, voted 12-3 that the government can get the information under a decades-old legal theory that it had already been disclosed to a third party, in this case a telephone company.
The ruling overturns a divided 2015 opinion from the court's three-judge panel and reduces the likelihood that the Supreme Court would consider the issue.


For my Computer Security classes.  Security by Design…
Managing the Bots that Are Managing the Business
Science fiction writer William Gibson once said, “The future is here.  It’s just not evenly distributed yet.”  You don’t need to wait five years to see how technology will change the practice of management.  You just need to study companies that are already living in the future that remains around the corner for everyone else.
   Some further implications of this insight include:
·         A typical programmer in a 20th-century IT shop was a worker building to a specification, not that different from a shop floor worker assembling a predefined product.  A 21st-century developer is deeply engaged in product design and iterative, customer-focused development.  For larger programs, this is a team exercise, and leadership means organizing a shared creative vision.  Technology is not a back-office function.  It is central to the management capability of the entire organization.  And companies whose CEO is also the chief product designer (think Larry Page, Jeff Bezos, or Apple under Steve Jobs) routinely outperform those whose leaders lack the capability to lead not just their human workers but their electronic workers as well.


I have to study this.  It seems to be the next big thing in Access Security.
Microsoft collaborates on blockchain-based ID system
Microsoft's work in the blockchain space is continuing with a new partnership committed to building a blockchain-based identity system.
Microsoft, Blockstack Labs and ConsenSys took the wraps off their initiative at the ID2020 conference in New York on May 31.
   "In the coming weeks" an open-source framework will be available on Azure where developers can set up an instance to work on projects involving the proposed open-source identity layer.
Microsoft has been forging a number of blockchain-related partnerships over the past several months.  Microsoft's initial foray into Azure Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) came late last year with an offering on the Etherum Platform with ConsenSys.  Now there are packaged BaaS offerings in the Azure marketplace.


Another angle on the new economy.  An infographic.
What is The ‘Gig Economy’ and How Does it Affect You?


I find this amusing.
How Paper Shaped Civilization
How would Plato have used Twitter?  To tell the world what he just ate for lunch?  To sound off about the Emmys?  To scold Kim Kardashian?
Probably not.  But he may have left one clue: “Wise men speak because they have something to say,” declares a quote that’s often—though probably falsely—attributed to him.  “Fools because they have to say something.”


Want a computer that speaks with a British accent?
BBC Micro:bit computer now available to all for £13
After a couple of unforeseen delays, the BBC finally began delivering Micro:bit computers to Year 7 students across the UK in March.  With the objective of distributing free microcomputers to an entire year group nearing completion -- around 80 percent of schools have received theirs to date -- it's time to let anyone else with an interest in coding loose on the little device.  Pre-orders open today at element14, which manufactures the palm-sized 'puters, Microsoft's online store and many other resellers, with the first shipments expected in July.
A lone Micro:bit costs £13, while a starter bundle with battery pack, USB cable and a handful of introductory activities goes for £15 -- you can also get 10 of these for a discounted price of £140
   Now anyone can pre-order the device, but better yet, there's a wealth of resources available for free online to help you master the Micro:bit, including apps for iOS and Android that mean you only need a smartphone to get started.


Something to build on?
Pepperoni spices up iOS and Android app dev
Mobile developers can get a slice of assistance from Pepperoni, which provides a blueprint for cross-platform app-building.
Also characterized as an app starter kit, Pepperoni works with Facebook's React Native JavaScript framework, to build apps for iOS and Android.
   Pepperoni features prebuilt components and boilerplates for common use cases; login, authentication, and user management via the AuthO identity platform; push notifications; and a cloud-ready back end


I’m going to encourage my students to try this.
Here’s Why You Need to Write For MakeUseOf
If you’ve clicked to read this article, then you’re probably one of those people who visits MakeUseOf frequently, and you’ve come to know what the site is all about.
You know that we are a bit different than your typical tech site.  We try to explain things to people — from the most complex programs or DIY projects, to the simplest tips and tweaks for your operating system — in a way that is easy to understand, and will hopefully enhance the life of the reader in some way.
·  You will be paid $90 for every article. The longer you write for us, the higher your pay will go.
·  You’ll get cash bonuses for writing superb stuff

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