Friday, July 22, 2016

Perspective.  Do you think it might be true in the US also?
Crime in UK Now Most Likely to be Cyber Crime
There were nearly six million fraud and cyber crimes committed in the UK in the 12 months to March 2016, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).  This is the first year that such cyber crimes have been included in the ONS statistics, so it is not possible to consider overall trends -- nevertheless, it suggests that approximately half of all UK crime is now cyber-related.
   The ONS figures suggest that there were 2 million computer misuse incidents; more than two-thirds of which were virus related, with the remainder involving unauthorized access to personal information (including hacking). 51% of fraud incidents are now cyber-related.
   The extent of this criminal move into online crime means that people are now six times more likely to be a victim of plastic card fraud than a victim of theft from the person, and around 17 times more likely than robbery.
   Earlier this month, the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) released its Cyber Crime Assessment 2016, which argues that criminal capability is outpacing industry's ability to defend against attacks, and suggests that "only by working together across law enforcement and the private sector can we successfully reduce the threat to the UK from cyber crime."


Is this really that shocking?  Will my Ethical Hacking students be able to do it to living victims? 
Police Request For 3D-Printed Fingers To Unlock A Murder Victim's Smartphone
   According to a Fusion report, authorities approached Michigan State University professor Anil Jain last month with the request to create 3D-printed replica of a dead man's fingers
   The police had copies of the murder victim's fingerprints that were taken while he was alive, as he was previously arrested.  The fingerprint scans were forwarded to Jain and Sunpreet Arora, his PhD student, who used the scans to create the 3D-printed replica of all ten digits of the murder victim.
While the thumb and index fingers are the most commonly used ones to create the fingerprint lock on devices, all ten digits were created just to be sure they have the one that will unlock the smartphone.


Jousting at windmills?
EFF Files Lawsuit Challenging DMCA’s Restrictions on Security Researchers
   The lawsuit asks the court to strike down the highly contentious Section 1201 of the DMCA that restricts the reverse engineering of systems which protects copyrighted material such as films, audio and computer code.


The world according to Bezos?
Amazon Is Now Offering Discounted Student Loans as a Prime Perk
Amazon is taking its nickname—the Everything Store—quite seriously.
On Thursday, the e-commerce behemoth and bank Wells Fargo announced a partnership to supply some Amazon customers with student loans.
The bank will give a new interest rate discount—0.5%—to borrowers who are members of Amazon Prime Student, a subscription-based service for college students that costs half the price of regular Amazon Prime.


The world according to Zuckerberg.  Still a long way from deployment.
Facebook’s Giant Internet-Beaming Drone Finally Takes Flight
   a little past six o’clock, a truck taxied down the runway, pulling Aquila on a massive metal dolly stretched out behind it.
Aquila is the flying drone Zuckerberg and company are designing to provide Internet access in remote parts of the world.  It’s made of carbon fiber, and it tops the wingspan of a 737.  As the truck reached full speed, the drone’s on-board autopilot computer clipped the straps that held the aircraft to the dolly, and Aquila rose into the sky.  Guiding itself via that same computer, the drone flew for a good 96 minutes in the restricted airspace of the Yuma Proving Ground before landing in the desert on its styrofoam skids—Aquila’s first successful flight.


Perspective.  The modern way to know your economy is in trouble?
McDonald's stops selling Big Mac in Venezuela due to bread shortage
   Shortages of everything from rice to toilet paper have worsened over the past several months in Venezuela, with reports of looting and protests on the rise.  Venezuela's economy will contract 10 percent in 2016, according to the International Monetary Fund, with inflation accelerating to around 700 percent.


Clearly, I have not been taking Pokémon seriously enough!  
The $105 Billion Enterprise Market for Pokémon Go


Alternative learning technologies…
15 Top-Notch Podcasts for Programmers & Software Developers
   For maximum enjoyment, we recommend using one of the many high-quality podcast apps available on Android, on iOS/iPad, and even on Linux.  Once you have one set up, scroll on down and check some of these out!  [Useful, even if you don’t have a smartphone.  Bob] 

No comments: