Hacked Dallas sirens get extra encryption to fend off future
attacks
Dallas city officials have added extra encryption and
other security measures to the outdoor
warning sirens hacked early Saturday.
The hack also prompted the city to evaluate critical
systems for potential vulnerabilities, City Manager T.C. Broadnax said in a statement late Monday. City officials are reviewing
security for financial systems, a flood warning system, police-fire dispatch
and the 911/311 system.
Is it now “cool” to claim you were hacked by Russia? There is a difference between “We’ve been
hacked” and “Russia change the election results.”
Brexit vote site may have been hacked, MPs say in report
… "There is
no evidence to suggest malign intervention. We conducted a full review into the outage and
have applied the lessons learned. We
will ensure these are applied for all future polls and online services."
(Related). A real
response to Russian hacking?
EU, NATO countries kick off center to counter 'hybrid'
threats
Several EU and NATO countries on Tuesday signed up to
establish a center in Helsinki to research how to tackle tactics such as cyber
attacks, propaganda and disinformation.
The United States, Britain,
France, Germany, Sweden, Poland, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania signed the
Memorandum of Understanding for the membership, and more countries are due to
come on board in July.
… Finland
last year voiced concern about what it sees as an intensifying propaganda
attack against it by the Kremlin. Germany has also reported a rise in Russian
disinformation campaigns and targeted cyber attacks.
An interesting legal tactic.
Anthem to data breach victims: Maybe the damages are your own
darned fault
Insurance giant Anthem has effectively scared off possible
victims of a 2015 data breach by asking to examine their personal computers for
evidence that their own shoddy security was to blame for their information
falling into the hands of criminals.
Some of the affected Anthem customers sued for damages
they say resulted from the breach but then withdrew their suits after Anthem
got a court order allowing the exams.
The examiners would be looking only for evidence that
their credentials or other personal data had been stolen even before the Anthem
hack ever took place, according
to a blog by Chad Mandell, an attorney at LeClairRyan.
“If that proved to be true, it would call into question
whether the plaintiffs’ alleged injuries had truly been caused by the Anthem
hack,” he writes.
Is this based on the discovery of potential terrorist or a
need to be seen “doing something?” Has
anyone asked to see the results of these searches?
The Steady Rise of Digital Border Searches
New statistics released Tuesday by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection reveal that the rate of
digital border searches is on pace to quadruple since 2015. That means more and more travelers entering
the U.S. are being asked to turn over their electronic devices to be analyzed.
The increase appears to have begun even before President
Donald Trump’s promise to scrutinize incoming visitors with “extreme vetting” measures,
some of which included stepping up digital surveillance. And if Trump’s cabinet gets its way, the trend
may accelerate further. Earlier this
year, John Kelly, the secretary of homeland security, told a House committee
that foreign visitors should have to give up their online
passwords and submit to social-media searches if they want to enter the
United States.
In the last six months, nearly 15,000 travelers had one of
their devices searched at the border. Compare
that to just 8,503 between October 2014 and October 2015, or 19,033 the
following year.
… The agency says
the steady increase in searches reflects “current threat information,” but a
spokesperson wouldn’t elaborate on the specific reasons for the trend. Asked for an example of the kind of cases that
digital border searches help solve, the spokesperson pointed to a Vermont man
who was arrested in February
for allegedly having sex with a 13-year-old girl. Border agents stopped the pair as they tried
to enter the U.S. from Canada, and inspected the girl’s phone. There, they found texts suggesting a sexual relationship
with the 25-year-old man.
Interesting article.
Devices that monitor an athlete could help extend his career or end it
before it begins.
The Upcoming Privacy Battle Over Wearables in the NBA
Ah, does this mean that nonsense about taps on Trumps
campaign headquarters might have some basis in fact?
FBI obtained FISA warrant to monitor Trump adviser Carter
Page
The FBI obtained a secret court order last summer to monitor the communications [Wiretap? Bob] of an adviser to presidential
candidate Donald Trump, part of an investigation into possible links between
Russia and the campaign, law enforcement and other U.S. officials said.
How many Twits read my Tweets?
If you’re on Twitter, there’s a good chance you’re trying
to get more followers, retweets, and favorites. Maybe you’re the social media
marketer at a company. Maybe you’re
trying to a develop a personal
brand. Or you just want to get some free stuff.
Whatever the reason, you want to get more traction — and
Twitter analytics can help you get it. Here’s
why those analytics are so helpful, what you should look for, and how to find
it.
(Related). Question:
Is there a market for Social Media advisors who can boost your following? Is that a thing?
These world leaders are killing it on Instagram: India’s
Prime Minister, Trump, and the Pope
In recent years, President Obama was the undisputed Instagram champ
among world leaders, with 13.9 million followers. But with Obama shuffling off the stage, which
global kingpin reigns supreme on the photo sharing app?
According to a study
released today by PR firm Burson-Marsteller, it’s India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with 6.8
million followers as of April 1. Finishing
a close second, but doing his best to Make Instagram Great Again, is President Donald Trump, with 6.3
million followers. Burson-Marsteller
notes that combined, those top two still have fewer followers than Obama.
No doubt I’ll add some of these to my RSS reader.
90 Active Blogs on Analytics, Big Data, Data Mining, Data
Science, Machine Learning
by Sabrina
I. Pacifici on Apr 11, 2017
Thuy T. Pham, U. of Sydney. “This post updates a previous very
popular post 100 Active Blogs on Analytics, Big
Data, Data Mining, Data Science, Machine Learning as of March 2016 (and 90+ blogs, 2015 version). This year we removed 26 blog sites from the
previous list that does not meet our active criterion: at least one blog
in the last 3 months (since Oct 1, 2016). We also added ten new relevant blogs to the
list. All blogs in this list are
categorized into two groups: very active and moderately active. The former often have several entries each
month while the latter may only have one post for a few months recently. We also separate blogs that do not involve
much in technical discussions as in a Others group. Within each group of blogs, we list in
alphabetical order. Blog overview is
based on information as it have appeared on its URL as of 1-1-2017.”
I have a dream: My very own “anti-social” network! Someplace to go all ‘Don Rickles’ on my
students.
Mastodon—The free software, decentralized Twitter competitor
… along comes Mastodon, which
describes itself as the following:
"Mastodon is a free,
open-source social network. A
decentralized alternative to commercial platforms, it avoids the risks of a
single company monopolizing your communication. Pick a server that you trust—whichever you
choose, you can interact with everyone else. Anyone can run their own Mastodon instance and
participate in the social network seamlessly."
Open source (and up on GitHub—using
the AGPL license)
Something for the toolkit.
I’m so bad at drawing I never even try.
Should I?
Google's AutoDraw turns your clumsy scribbles into art
Google wants to help you get in touch with your inner
Picasso. Today, it's launching AutoDraw, a web-based tool that uses
machine learning to turn your hamfisted doodling into art.
… The app is free and it works on any phone, computer or
tablet. It's pretty
straightforward: draw your best version of a cake, for example, and the auto
suggestion tool will try to guess what that amorphous blob actually is. Then, you can choose from a number of better
looking cakes made by talented artists. Or,
if amorphous blob is actually what you were striving for, you can turn off the
auto suggestions and doodle away.
Not many of my students are interested in chess.
The Sublime Moves Of America’s New Chess Champion
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