Tuesday, August 23, 2016

My student gamers need to pay attention to article like this.
Another forum using vBulletin hacked?  Zack Whittaker reports:
A hacker has stolen hundreds of thousands of forum accounts associated with Unreal Engine and its maker, Epic Games.
More than 808,000 accounts were stolen in the attack — with more than half a million from Unreal Engine’s forums alone.  Breach notification site LeakedSource.com, which obtained a copy of the database, said the attack was carried out August 11.
Read more on ZDNet.


Something for every class I teach.  Impacts Data management, IT Architecture, IT Gavernance and Computer Security.
Lucas Mearian reports:
About 32% of hospitals and 52% of non-acute providers — such as outpatient clinics, rehabilitation facilities and physicians’ offices — are not encrypting data in transit, according to a new survey.
Additionally, only 61% of acute providers and 48% of non-acute providers are encrypting data at rest.
Read more about the results of the HIMSS survey on ITWorld.

(Related) Of course, the government is no better.
Norman Leahy reports:
Medicare and Medicaid have “significant” vulnerabilities in their wireless networks that jeopardize the personal information of millions of citizens, according to a report issued Wednesday.
If exploited, the security holes at certain Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data operations could result in “unauthorized access” to personally identifiable information and a possible “disruption of critical operations,” said a Department of Health and Human Services inspector general report.
[…]
The HHS inspector general office conducted a simulated “wireless penetration test” of 13 CMS “data centers and employee and contractor facilities” between Aug. 31, 2015 and Dec. 4, 2015.  It used “tools and techniques commonly used by attackers to gain unauthorized access to wireless networks and sensitive data.”
The report said that, while CMS “had security controls that were effective in preventing certain types of wireless cyber attacks,” the tests identified “four vulnerabilities in security controls over wireless networks.”
Read more on AMI Newswire.


An interesting question!  Will the Insurance industry jump on this? 
Ken Kronstadt of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP writes:
If you have turned on a television recently, you have likely seen advertisements for Wi-Fi-networked appliances and devices such as refrigerators or thermostats.  While these devices represent a giant leap in consumer convenience, it is not difficult to imagine hackers exploiting a security vulnerability in such a device to access consumers’ personal information.  Under most cybersecurity insurance policies, the manufacturer of such a device would be covered for most of the costs associated with such a breach.
However, this soaring level of internet connectivity also poses a risk of physical damage to property or bodily injury as a result of a breach—a risk far less likely to be covered under a cybersecurity insurance policy.  For example, a hacker could access a web-connected appliance and potentially disable its temperature controls, overheat the appliance and cause a fire, or exploit a vulnerability in a driverless car’s control system, take control of the car and crash it.  The idea of hacking into web connected devices, cars, or even medical devices is not mere speculation—it has already happened.
Read more of this BNA report on KelleyDrye.com.


News from the land of teenage druggies?
Rob Spahr reports:
The Lacey Township Board of Education approved a new policy Monday night that will create a voluntary random drug-testing program for middle school students.
[…]
Seventh and eighth grade students who participate in the school district’s interscholastic athletic programs or extracurricular programs will be given the option to participate in the random drug testing program, and then their parents must sign a consent form consenting to the program’s provisions for 12 months.
Well, if it’s voluntary, and involves consent, that doesn’t sound too bad, right? Read on….
A student who refuses to consent to the test after being randomly selected could be considered in violation of the policy and subject to the same consequences as if they had tested positive for alcohol or drugs.
The discipline for a positive for alcohol or drug test under the program will be limited to the removal from or prohibition again participation in interscholastic sports and extra-curricular activities.  No student will be penalized academically for testing positive for drug or alcohol under the policy.
The first violation of the policy carries a penalty of the student not being able to participate in an extracurricular activity for up to 10 days.  A second violation carries a 45-day penalty and the requirement to attend eight counseling sessions.  A third violation will result in the student being prohibited in any interscholastic athletic activity or extracurricular event.
So if the student refuses, they can be barred from activities.
Once again, we are teaching kids to just comply with authority and that they have to give up rights to their own body.
Bah.  Hopefully, parents will think about the pro’s and con’s of signing consent.
Read more on NJ.com.


“Why yes, I use ‘Terrorist-r-us,’ why do you ask?”  DHS must have evidence that (at least some) terrorists are really stupid.
Tech slams Homeland Security on social media screening
   leading tech companies said Monday that the proposal could "have a chilling effect on use of social media networks, online sharing and, ultimately, free speech online."


For my IT Governance students.  It’s not just for advertising!
Economic Policy Review: Behavioral Risk Management in the Financial Services Industry
by Sabrina I. Pacifici on Aug 22, 2016


A legal resource.
Free Full-Text Online Law Review/Journal Search
by Sabrina I. Pacifici on Aug 22, 2016
American Bar Association – “This free search engine searches the free full-text of over 400 online law reviews and law journals, as well as document repositories hosting academic papers and related publications such as Congressional Research Service reports.  Several of the law reviews and legal journals (such as the Stanford Technology Law Review), working papers, and reports are available online only.  Coverage may vary; for more complete coverage visit your local law library and fee-based online legal research services.  Also see our list of reviews/journals/document repositories which have free full-text available online, but which must be searched/browsed manually.  Viewing tip: for PDF files, click on the “View as HTML” or “Quick View” links for quick viewing.”


Let’s build it into an App for politicians.  (Or is that redundant?)
How Artificial Intelligence Could Help Diagnose Mental Disorders
People convey meaning by what they say as well as how they say it: Tone, word choice, and the length of a phrase are all crucial cues to understanding what’s going on in someone’s mind.  When a psychiatrist or psychologist examines a person, they listen for these signals to get a sense of their wellbeing, drawing on past experience to guide their judgment.  Researchers are now applying that same approach, with the help of machine learning, to diagnose people with mental disorders.


Apparently the People Republic of Massachusetts still thinks, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” is good economics.  Does subsidizing a failing business model ever work? 
Massachusetts to tax ride-hailing apps, give the money to taxis
Massachusetts is preparing to levy a 5-cent fee per trip on ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft and spend the money on the traditional taxi industry, a subsidy that appears to be the first of its kind in the United States.
   "I don't think we should be in the business of subsidizing potential competitors," said Kirill Evdakov, the chief executive of Fasten, a ride service that launched in Boston last year and also operates in Austin, Texas.


It’s not the $4 phone they promised, by at $69 we are getting closer.
Samsung Z2 Tizen-based smartphone launched in India, priced at Rs 4,590


My students will not (better not) be surprised.
Target plans to enhance offline-online shopping experiences
Target will focus on its website, Target.com, and offline-online experiences such as order pickup and digital marketing, McNamara said in a blog post on the company’s website.
“Technology and supply chain are the new battlegrounds for retail,” he said.  “The retailers with the strongest technology and supply chain will have the best chance of winning.”

(Related) Part of the thinking behind the new IT Architecture?
Apple Purchases Medical Startup Gliimpse
Apple Inc. quietly purchased Gliimpse Inc., a three-year-old startup that aims to help patients make sense of their medical records.
   Gliimpse is free for consumers.  The company makes money from health-care providers and software developers who pay for its data-sharing software and services.


Probably has some non-Pokémon applications as well.
The MIT Developed a Mind-Blowing Technology for the Pokémon Go! Game (and It’s Unreal!)
Think catching wild Pokémons hiding in the bushes is exciting?  Think again!  As demonstrated by an MIT project, Pokémon Go and other augmented reality based games could get even more immersive!  How?  By allowing the digital characters to interact with real world surroundings!


…and all I wanted to do was have my students write their own textbook.
A Google Apps Guidebook Published by Students
My friend Kern Kelley and his students at Nokomis High School in Newport, Maine have spent most of this year putting together The Google Apps Guidebook.  Kern and his students, collectively referred to as the Tech Sherpas, created the book for teachers who are new to using Google Apps for Education.  The guidebook takes teachers through the core features of Google Apps for Education including Google Drive, Docs, Slides, Sites, Forms, Sheets, and Classroom.  They also share tips for learning and leading Google search lessons.


Perhaps we could get these with the University logo embroidered onto them?
The Xbox Onesie is So Dumb That I Want It
   The Xbox Onesie will be available in white and black (much like the Xbox One itself), and touts a handful of features that could prove useful during a long day of binge gaming.  The most notable benefit is the set of gigantic pockets meant to hold your Xbox controller or media remote, which is complemented by a pouch on the arm that lets you store your phone.
There are -- I'm not kidding -- forearm grips to keep you from slipping off of your couch during a heated Halo match, as well as an extra-large hood designed to accommodate your gaming headset.  You can even get your Gamertag embroidered onto the chest.

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