Tuesday, April 11, 2017

It looks like the Privacy Foundation has finalized its April 28th Seminar on Artificial Intelligence and Privacy (Privacy/AI interface).  You can find the Flyer, a map to the Law School at http://dughost.imodules.com/s/1150/community/index.aspx?sid=1150&pgid=13350&gid=1011&cid=22800&ecid=22800&post_id=0
For information and registration, contact: Ryan Allen 860 690 0068  rallen@law.du.edu


The classic phishing techniques are the best.
— The list of entities reporting that employee W-2 data was acquired by phishing.–
Last year, this site compiled 145 W-2 phishing incidents before I somewhat waved a white flag in terms of trying to keep up, but as I started working on this year’s list, I found even more cases from 2016, bringing the 2016 list to 175 reports.
Let’s see how 2017 goes.  Expect reports to come in over the next months (not weeks, but months, and perhaps throughout the year).  Here’s the list I’ve got so far for 2017, and it will be updated as I become aware of new incidents.  Steve Ragan of Salted Hash has indicated that he will keep track, too, so do check his space also for additional information.  As of March 13, Steve estimates 120,000 affected for the 110 incidents we had as of that date.
[List of 143 companies follows.  Bob] 


An opportunity for my Computer Security students?
The way people tilt their smartphone 'can give away passwords and pins'
The way you tilt your mobile while you're using it could allow hackers to steal your pin numbers and passwords, according to new research.
Experts at Newcastle University analysed the movement of a smartphone as the keyboard was used.
They say they cracked four-digit pins with 70% accuracy on the first guess and 100% by the fifth guess.
The team of cyber-experts claim tech companies know about the problem but can't figure out what to do about it.
   "But because mobile apps and websites don't need to ask permission to access most of them, malicious programmes can covertly 'listen in' on your sensor data."
   "People were far more concerned about the camera and GPS than they were about the silent sensors."
The team said it was able to identify 25 different sensors which come as standard on most devices.


Evil hackers can’t turn your vacuum cleaning robot into the Terminator, but they could cause a bit of damage to your self-driving car. 
Robots: Lots of features, not much security
   But there is plenty of evidence that, like the billions of other connected devices that make up the Internet of Things (IoT), the growth of robot technology is coming with loads of features, but not much of a security blanket.
More evidence came in a report on home, business and industrial robots released last month by security research firm IOActive, which found that “most” of them lacked what experts generally call “basic security hygiene.”
Those included the predictable list: Insecure communication channels, critical information sent in cleartext or with weak encryption, no requirement for user names or passwords for some services, weak authentication in others, and a lack of sufficient authorization to protect critical functions such as software installation or updates.


All of which would allow, “anyone to remotely and easily hack the robots, … install software in these robots without permission and gain full control over them.”


Do they see his as the opportunity to invest they missed with Amazon or as a way to slow Amazon’s growth?
Microsoft, eBay, Tencent Invest $1.4 Billion in Amazon’s India Rival
Indian e-commerce startup Flipkart Group has raised $1.4 billion from Microsoft Corp., eBay Inc.  and Tencent Holdings Ltd, taking a hit to its valuation to raise the cash it needs to defend its home market from Amazon.com Inc.
Flipkart—which was started in 2007 by two former Amazon employees—said in a statement Monday that the new investment values the Bangalore company at $11.6 billion.  That allows Flipkart to retain its title as India’s most valuable startup but is still a step down from the $15 billion valuation it received during fundraising in 2015.


I think it is a bit thin, but then many PowerPoints are. 
Artificial Intelligence and Law: A Six Part Primer
by Sabrina I. Pacifici on Apr 10, 2017
Artificial Intelligence and Law: A Six Part Primer – Professor Daniel Martin Katz,  Chicago Kent College of Law (Updated Version 03.17.17) – PowerPoint Presentation – 271 slides.


Is it so strange that Social Media loves the anti-social? 
United Airlines Tumbles After Social-Media Storm Goes Global
United Continental Holdings Inc. tumbled early Tuesday as outrage on social media over the removal of a passenger from a flight spread across the globe.
The stock dropped as much as 6.3 percent before paring the loss and trading 2.7 percent lower at 7:27 a.m. in New York.


Perspective.  How can you reach teens with your advertisement?
76% of U.S. Teens Surveyed Using iPhones, 81% Plan to Purchase
The iPhone continues to be the most popular smartphone among teens, according to data gathered by investment firm Piper Jaffray in its most recent semiannual U.S. teen survey.
76 percent of teens surveyed own an iPhone, up from 69 percent in the spring of 2016, and the highest ownership level seen in the teen survey.  A record 81 percent of teens surveyed said they expect their next phone to be an iPhone, up from 75 percent a year ago.


Perspective.
Tesla (TSLA) Becomes U.S. Most Valuable Automaker, Passing GM
The California-based luxury electric vehicle company, which calls itself the “Quickest production car on earth,” has just outpaced General Motors (GM) in market value — something I told you a week ago was poised to happen.  Admittedly, I didn’t think it would come this quickly.
   The bigger story here is the enormous belief investors have placed in the promises Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made, which by contrast renders the slow-growing GM and Ford — despite dominating Tesla in total vehicle sales — to “used car” status.  Reuters noted that Tesla’s market cap — which peaked Monday at $51.105 billion — is now the equivalent to $102,000 for every car it plans to make in 2018, or $667,000 per car sold in 2016.  This compares to GM's market cap which is equivalent to $5,000 per car it sold in 2016.


It could happen here!
Here's the Fine Print On The Country's Biggest-Ever Free College Plan
New York State has passed legislation that would create the largest experiment in the country to offer free tuition at two- and four-year colleges.  The Excelsior Scholarship, approved over the weekend as part of the state budget, would cover full-time students in the State University of New York system, which totals 64 campuses and 1.3 million students.
   Students from families making up to $100,000 a year would be eligible in the program's first year, and by the third year that would increase to $125,000 a year.
It's a big step forward in a national trend: In the last decade, 85 states and municipalities have created similar scholarship programs, most of them for community college tuition.


Apparently, talk is cheap!
Raspberry Pi 3 gets Microsoft Cortana with Windows 10 Creators Update
   You will very soon be able to use Microsoft's Cortana voice assistant with the Raspberry Pi 3 and make cool devices that can accept voice commands.
   Users will also able to build smart devices using Raspberry Pi 3 that will be able to accept Cortana's commands.  But the devices will need to be based on Windows 10 IoT Core, not Linux-based OSes.

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